Death's Servant
by MikeMc
Summary: An AU story where Harry is trained by an assassin from the age of eight. New challenges will face him and canon ones will be altered and completely dismissed too.
1. Chapter 1

**AN- So this idea has been dancing around my mind and I've put down a few chapters and I think this is the next story I'll work on.**

 **Obviously JK Rowling owns everything blah blah blah. I'm not a millionaire or a woman or british. Let's just keep enjoying her beautiful creation and keep writing new variations of it.**

 **Chapter 1 – A meeting with Death**

Bradley Smith had driven his bus for over forty years, in fact today was his last day behind the wheel of Susie as he had come to call her. He rounded the second to last corner and immediately stomped on the breaks. A boy had stepped in front of the bus, stepped would have been the incorrect term he full on sprinted in front of the bus but then he disappeared. For a moment, he doubted that he had seen a child, but then he saw the three other boys standing on the curb looking horrified. Bradley jumped out of the bus and checked under his wheels. Looking under the vehicle he didn't see anything and when he looked up he saw the three boys sprinted away; he shook his head and climbed back into his bus. Surely, he was getting old and the time had come to hang up his driving boots.

The boy who had vanished had reappeared somewhere else, he felt very comfortable where he had been seated. His eyes felt heavy and he felt tired, he opened them slowly and saw that he was seated in a lush chair but what was more interesting was that there was a man seated across from him; dressed in an immaculate black suit along with a black shirt and tie. Harry looked up at the man's face and realized that he couldn't recognize the man, not because he hadn't seen him before but because the man's face kept changing.

"Hello Mr Potter" he said with a sweet voice

"Hello" he said

"Confused?" the man asked

"Yes, extremely" he said still fascinated by the man's face

"Only after I collect you from this realm will you truly see the true face of Death" he said indicating vaguely to his face

"Are you Death?" he asked with a slight stutter

"My dear boy you'll need to ask more insightful questions than that should you hope to live a longer life. Since you're only eight human years old I will indulge you for three naïve questions" he said shaking his head "Yes, I am Death and no you are not dead, before you waste one of the two questions you have left"

"Why am I not dead?" he asked

Death seemed to smile at the question "That is a question I have been pondering for some time Mr Potter and all I can tell you is that you're fated for some grand purpose. I however hate fate, she interrupts my dealings far too often and this time I may have the jump on her" he said

"Are you going to take my life?" Harry asked

"Only in a hundred or so years, that's if you accept my deal Mr Potter" he said simply

How could Death want to make a deal with him? "What is the deal?"

"Well, since you owe me your life I thought you could help me further mess with fate. She won't want you to die and thus she will be at odds with who dies when they're fated to do something. She will no doubt chose you since your fate involves very powerful people" he said simply

"You want me to k… kill?" he asked

"Well yes, naturally. I'll have someone train you that you can be sure of" he said as if this was normal

"Why me? I'm only a boy" he said flinching at the last word knowing how his uncle threw the word around whenever he was close

"Oh, but you're not which brings me to my deal. I will give you information, spare your life, kill Voldemort and give you training if you kill 10 people for me. I think that's fair, three for information, three for training, three for Voldemort and one for sparing your life" he offered

"Well what if I say no?" he asked nervously already knowing the answer

"Well then, I'll have to kill you, fate be damned but I'd rather not. You see us Powers have a delicate balance between ourselves and while we can change that balance it often has repercussions which range from small inconveniences to destruction of the Power but if we get humans to do our bidding we often find that there are no consequences other than a few mortal lives"

"So you want me to kill ten people?" Harry asked

"I believe that is your second naïve question as I have plainly stated that" he said seemingly bored

"Okay, I'll do it. Now can I have the information?" he said steeling his nerves

"Good, first I need you to shake my hand to conclude our deal. You kill ten people and I kill Voldemort, give you information, get you training and spare your life" he said and struck out his hand which Harry shook quickly

"Now Harry James Potter there are a few things that you should know. First, you're a wizard, yes magic is real and you have been performing it accidently over the years but you will get a letter when you turn 11 which will invite you to a school to hone your skills, this will be where you will spend seven years to try and kill your tenth target which will be the most difficult as he is regarded as the most powerful wizard alive. There's a lot more to those facts but you'll get your trainer to take you to a place called Diagon Alley where you can get as many books and equipment as you want. Secondly, you're a millionaire thanks to generations of Potter's accumulating wealth, none of them rested on their laurels and continuously generated more than they spent. Now you're to go straight to the bank in Diagon Alley and talk to a goblin named Griphook and make it clear to him no one is to know about your visit, understand everything so far?"

"Yes" he said simply, committing the information to memory

"Thirdly, in the magical world people call you the boy who lived since you're the only person to survive the killing curse, they're wrong but it would be up to you to keep up or dispel the illusion. Your magical ability is great and with training you'll be able to able to surpass even Merlin, which seems to be Voldemort's goal but he will be disappointed when I come to collect him" he said

"Can you tell me about Voldemort?" Harry asked

"Of course, his real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle and he is born to a witch and a non-magical man. He had a goal to become the most powerful wizard and rule both the magical and non-magical worlds, he made steps to become immortal and succeeded but our deal will trump that. Deals with Powers are very powerful and can transcend almost all magic and its limitations. He tried to kill you because of a foolish prophecy that was interpreted incorrectly and your mother gave her life to protect you from him in her final moments and that's all I think I should tell you about him"

"Thank you" Harry said

"Now onto your teacher. He is called by many names; the harbinger of death, the emissary of death, Deaths most diligent servant, baba yaga or the boogeyman but his name is Johnathan Wick and currently works with the Tarasov family. His skill is unparalleled and if you're observant you'll learn more from him in a day than from a thousand assassins in a thousand years. You'll learn everything he knows, this is as part of his deal with me. Which doesn't concern you" he said

"When will he be fetching me?" Harry asked

"Tonight at 6, I suggest you meet him at the front door unless you want your relatives assaulted" he warned

"Okay" Harry said "So who do I need to" he started

"I will give you the first three names in a year" Death said

"Okay" He said

"Now Mr Potter as fascinating as this discussion was you need to return and wait for Johnathan to find you. Don't be late" he said and snapped his fingers and Harry appeared on the sidewalk where he had been earlier before he crossed the street. Could he do it? Kill ten people? He guessed he would find out in a year when he got the first three names.

He ran home and hid in the bushes waiting for Johnathan to arrive; he wouldn't pass up the chance to get out of this house. Maybe he should let the man beat up his uncle for all the punishment he had put Harry through, no that may only deny his escape from his prison. The minutes passed when Harry saw an American car pull up outside the house and a well-dressed man climbed out of the car and adjusted his jacket which allowed Harry to see that he wore a shoulder holster with two guns under his jacket

Harry decided there and then that it would be best if the Dursley's never met this man; he jumped out of the bushes and walked up to the man.

"Mr Potter?" he asked in an American accent

"Yes, Mr Wick?" Harry asked and remembered that Death had told him not to ask stupid question

"Yes, are you ready to leave?" he asked

"Yes I am" he said confidently

"Where are you bags then?" he asked confused

"I'd rather not bring along more rags" he said and indicated his own clothes

"I will arrange for clothes then" he said understanding what the boy meant; just looking at what he was wearing, it was oversized and quite used

"Thank you" Harry said and got into the car

"Now I have a few rules, the car stays clean so if you mess in it I expect you to clean. In general I want a clean environment, you and your room will be presentable at all times. A cleaning service comes in thrice a week and you will make sure that laundry is in the basket and outside your room at nine every night before they arrive" he said taking the next turning into the next street

"Understood Mr Wick" Harry said

"Call me John and if I may call you Harry" he said

"That'll be alright by me John" Harry said

"Now lastly, I'm not your friend or your father. We will have a trainer/trainee relationship and even a mentor/mentee relationship if you're keen enough, while you're with me you'll be in permanent danger except when we're at my home. Now I expect you to be aware enough to defend yourself or alert me to possible dangers" he went on to explain

"Okay, where do you live?" Harry asked

"Right now I'm based out of London but I frequently travel to Moscow and New York, after 6 months of our training I will expect you to travel with me since I believe that's how long it should take you to get up to standard. Now onto house rules and I guess training rules as well; we will get up at six every morning, you will go for a run and be back in time for breakfast at seven. You will not eat junk food and you will keep a food journal for those six months, I am not happy with your physical form for an eight year old. You will study weapons in the morning and then we'll do combat training in the afternoon. In the evening's we will arrange for a tutor for Math, sciences, languages and geography" he said

"What time should I be in bed?" he asked showing that he was still a child

"You'll be in bed by 9 until we're happy with your physical growth" John said

"That's okay" Harry said knowing that the Dursley's expected him to be silent after 7

"Now, tonight we will get you some clothes and toiletries. Tomorrow we will get you weapons and then you may enjoy the weekends because I'll be away for business and then from Monday we'll start our training" he explained

"I need to go to the bank still" Harry said knowing that clothes were not cheap

"I know that was what Death advised but I have enough money to help you. You will pay me back with good behaviour and steady progress" he said leaving no room for argument

"Anything else I need to know?" Harry asked

"No, I think we'll have some more discussions later" he said and stopped in front of a non-descript building "In we go now, you will receive formal and casual wear. I will pick out tactical wear so no need to worry about that, I want you to be comfortable and if there is something you'd like I want you to speak up. Clothes are a big part of our arsenal, they help us blend in or stand out depending on the situation" he explained as they walked into the building

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it.**

 **Please review and favourite and follow.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – The first time**

The six months passed very quickly for Harry and John; the training drained Harry every day in the beginning as he had no physical strength, John pushed him hard not allowing for excuses. Harry had grown very proficient with his hand to hand combat and his melee weapons but didn't feel comfortable with firearms yet. The recoil always proved too much for him and in close combat he didn't have enough time to recover

John had given him a stack of passports and credit cards and explained how best to use them in any situation; he was also given a back pack which had a secret compartment which he was told was to hide all these additional passports.

"We'll be going to the States for a month to work on firearms, there's a firing range there where we can work on your sniper rifle proficiency" John told him over dinner

"What if I can get better with firearms" he asked

"Many people in our profession don't use guns but I have a feeling about the sniper rifle" he said

"Why?" Harry asked

"I don't know exactly why but you're better close range with blades, I think it has to do with the kick that close range firearms give that throws you off. A sniper rifle gives you time, you have to learn to control your breath and make small and precise movements. I've seen you make those movements when you write, your movements are very small and you're writing neat but they are very quick. I think that since your movements are so nimble that you'd do well, I you can get used to the kick" he explained

"Okay then, will you be teaching me how to shoot?" he asked referring to the sniper training

"Maybe the basics kid but I have a colleague who is the best shot I know, he will train you for the month while I handle some work" he said pouring another glass of wine for himself

"Okay, my tutor will be arriving soon" Harry said

"Which subject are you covering today?" he asked already on the move clearing the table

"Latin, she feels that if I can grasp that then everything else should come a bit quicker" he explained

"I agree with Ms Giovanni, she has taught a great number of students using that technique. Now off you go, remember that time if used wisely can be your greatest asset" he said to the boy who nodded and left the room.

He often wondered in those early months why this would be the task Death would give him after all these years of faithfully serving him but then he saw the raw potential in this boy. He was a quick study and a hard worker; he had managed to land a blow on John only a month into their training, John knew fully trained assassins who couldn't land a blow on him. Then there was the gratitude and grit the boy showed every day, he made John realise that in the heat of the moment the boy would be able to defend himself adequately. He had already ordered a set of knives for the boy both here in London and in the States and planned on registering him with his contacts so that he could get all the weaponry he needed without John having to be in tow

He heard the lessons start up and decided that he would slip out for the night and take care of some business. He arranged for flights for the Sunday evening when security was typically at its weakest and then decided to get a few suits made for himself before they left.

Harry finished his lesson and crawled into bed; how could he be so happy when he knew what lied ahead of him. The answer came all too quickly and rather uncomfortably for him; he didn't care if he needed to take lives to secure his own future. John had told him to be selfish with his decisions and if he wanted something he needed to go for it no matter what it cost. So ten lives was what it would cost him; the training was really worth it. He enjoyed every minute of it and he had grown close with John who had taught him how life worked and Harry had helped sharpen the older man's skills unbeknownst to him.

In the States Harry met John's colleague named Marcus who trained Harry for the month; he gifted Harry a sniper rifle at the end of the training telling him that with more practice Harry could easily out shoot him. John simply smiled at the boy in an 'i-told-you-so' manner. The rest of the year went by quickly and his birthday arrived; Harry woke in a room different to the one he had went to bed in and immediately became defensive. He searched the room for a weapon but found none so he ripped a cord from the wall and held it taut in his hands.

He heard the door open and Death stepped through

"My my Harry what will the dear folks of the hotel think" he said looking at the cable in the boys hands

"Sorry, John done too well at training me" he laughed

"Good! Now firstly Happy Birthday, here's your birthday gift" he said and handed Harry three photographs with names written beneath them

 _Jeffrey Sloan_

 _Mathieu LeFleur_

 _Joseph Tshabalala_

"These are the first three I suppose. Can you tell me where to find them?" He asked

"Houston Texas, Marseille France and Johannesburg South Africa. Now the next three I will provide you on the completion of these. Once you complete the next three I will kill Voldemort and all his soul pieces except one, don't want to give away clues to anyone" Death explained and sent Harry back to his bed

He found John immediately and told him about his new task, John advised that with the political climate in South Africa they may be able to pull it off without too many problems and should attend to that first to which Harry simply nodded

"And remember you're pulling the trigger" he said to the boy

"Understood" he said shakily

Harry and John arrived in South Africa two weeks later and immediately sourced a sniper rifle and a set of knives for Harry. Harry couldn't help but notice that John was spot on about the political climate, some regime seemed to be at its end they just hadn't realised it yet and the atmosphere was heavy with loss and angst. They found his target a day later and followed him for three days to establish a routine; after that John left him to do what was needed.

"You're on your own now kid" was all he would say before he left him in a street

After the first night passed and Harry saw that John was definitely not going to help him with his target he started making plans. Harry knew that according to the laws no people of colour, or non-whites as they called them, were allowed on the town streets after 6 at night and that Joseph took a shortcut to get to his transportation. That's where he would do it on that side street which was always quiet and without much foot traffic. Harry waited on the street sticking to the shadows so that no one asked him what a kid was doing alone on the street this close to the evening.

The man he was waiting for swung around the corner and was moving fairly quickly toward him. Joseph was wearing brown formal pants and a white shirt and had sweat on his brow from the pace he was keeping, he had been held up at work and now he was late and he couldn't afford to miss his transportation, heaven knew what awaited if the police or military found him in town after dark.

Harry knew it was now or never for him to honour Death's deal. He knelt and waited until the brown pants were in front of him and then he struck the man in the back of his knee and saw him drop to one knee as planned. Joseph looked down at the boy and felt a sharp pain in his stomach and continued staring at the boy who now rose and looked him square in his eyes. Harry used his blade and stabbed Joseph in the neck and then vanished from the scene by foot.

He waited to hear if anyone was following him but no one would have suspect a child of murdering a grown man. When he arrived at the apartment he found John sitting in a chair and cleaning a gun and Harry took the seat across from his mentor

"How did it go?" he asked seemingly uninterested but unaware to Harry, John had watched his movements carefully since he entered the room

"I killed him, I looked him dead in the eye before I struck the final blow" Harry said

"How did you do it?" John asked, he knew the first kill could be the worst

"I waited for him on the side street which he always cuts down to make sure he is in time to take his transportation. He was a little late which played into my hands perfectly because he wasn't really paying attention, I kneeled and waited for him to get close enough and then I stabbed him in the back of his leg and then as I rose I slashed across his midriff from right to left and then I stabbed him in the neck on the left side, all in one motion" Harry explained

"Why did you take the risk of him screaming by stabbing him in the back of the leg?" John asked

"I didn't think he would" Harry explained

"In future don't take the risk, people react differently to pain and it's a gamble. Always"

"I understand, but I think I'm going to stick to the rifle for the next two" He said

"It is difficult to kill close up and the fact that you chose that method for your first kill shows the resolve and skill you possess. I've never said this before but I'm proud of you Harry, you'll make a fine assassin one day and if I had to choose I would have my death come by your hand" John said which went some way to getting Harry to be okay with killing

"Thank you John" he said

"Remember why you're doing it Harry, I have no issue with taking life but for most normal people it is difficult and remembering what you're getting in return does make it more bearable. I do however believe that you will end up the same as me" John said to the boy

Harry spent the entire evening thinking about the look Joseph had given him, he remembered the sound of his blade tearing through the flesh. Then he thought about the discussion he had with John about being selfish and going for what he wanted. He wanted to live a happy life and have a family, Death was giving him a chance to have a life and the rest was up to him. Whether he could live the same way John did he didn't know.

John never spoke about a wife or girlfriend and those were things Harry definitely wanted, just the thought made him blush.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN- So here we go for…**

 **Chapter 3 – The next two**

Harry would learn over the following weeks that he was incredibly good at the job at hand. John had spoken to him on the plane again and made sure that he was okay with what had happened and honestly Harry had made peace with his actions but he would honour them by remembering their names. Every life he took would not be frivolous, he wouldn't become a murderer but rather an assassin who served Death. John had explained to him that every Death served a purpose and especially his ten. Joseph was earmarked to have changed the course of the revolution but now Harry would have to see how it turned out.

He was glad to be out of South Africa because he couldn't stand the atmosphere of hatred and racism. He loved the look of the city from the plane and decided he wouldn't just use this as a business trip but he would enjoy the sights. Also he would test his French skills while he was here

"I'm off to do some recon" John said to him

"Me too, I'm going to take in the sights as well" Harry said

"Don't forget your knives" John said tapping his own forearm

Harry walked between the buildings; the people weren't very friendly and mainly kept to themselves which suited him. He loved the look of the place and kept walking until he got to the pier and checked out the boats, they all represented a sense of freedom. Maybe John had boat, Harry would have to ask him. He enjoyed the sunshine on his skin and eventually he walked far enough to find himself on a beach where he ended up spending the rest of the day. He arrived back in the hotel after six and saw that John hadn't returned yet so he turned on the TV and saw his target was making a speech about policy reforms. Harry saw that the man was part of a committee set up to address foreign relations with Germany and Britain; Harry grabbed a note pad and started making notes in French since that was what the news was in.

He picked up the phone and ordered some food for himself and John making sure to get a wine for John as well. He was told that it would be up in half an hour so he decided to take a quick shower; he realised that his hair had been getting longer, this startled him because his hair never grew past a certain length after the dreadful incident where his aunt shaved his head. Now however it was down to his shoulders and he knew it would get in the way of his lens if he didn't cut it or at least tie it up. He stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly; just in time to get his supper from the door.

The following morning he found John having coffee on the balcony and saw that the man had ordered breakfast for both of them

"Morning" he said to the older man

"Good morning Harry, how did your recon go yesterday?" he asked smiling

"I didn't get much done yesterday while I was out but I caught a bit on the news about Mathieu LeFleur, so today I want to take the rifle and go see his work place. Maybe I'll get a shot?" he said hopefully

"Good plan, sometimes you need to stalk for longer than a day but sometimes you do get an opportunity early on" he said and started eating his breakfast "Thank you for ordering food for me but it's unnecessary" he said between bites

"Okay" Harry said noting that he hadn't said anything about the wine

Harry and John found themselves in a dingy building that had been condemned which was situated close to the building Mathieu worked from. He appeared in a window two floors lower than what they were.

"So I have spoken to someone about Diagon Alley" John said as they watched the man leading a meeting

"Yes? Did he give you any useful information?" Harry asked

"Not really, he called me a muggle and said that if I really had a magical child I should bring you along before he shows us where it is" he said sounding irritated

"Then we should meet him soon" Harry said

"After you finish the first three then I'll arrange a meeting" he said

"Arrange it for next week Friday" Harry said and adjusted his lens

"Don't be too confident kid" John said and was about to add something to that but Harry fired his weapon

"Time to go, I only have one left" he smiled at the older man's shocked face. Harry put the rifle back in its case and then the case in his backpack

"Death and Fate cannot both be betting on you" John muttered and the two of them left the building. When they exited the building two police officers stopped them

"What are you two doing in that building?" they asked in French, hands on their weapons

"I'm looking for property in the area and my son and I wanted to check the structure" John replied politely in French and followed up with "Can you point me to the government buildings so that I can enquire about it"

"It's that one" he pointed to the building where Harry had shot into "but it's closed" he said looking at his partner who nodded

"Just for lunch?" John asked

"No, someone has been shot inside. Now get out of here before I drag you and your boy to the police station" he said as more police officers arrived and closed off the street

John and Harry walked about six blocks before Harry spoke

"I didn't think they'd respond so quickly" he said happy that he had taken the time to put the case in a backpack

"Me neither, I'll have to tell Marcus about it. He is in town and has a target as well" John said as he led them to the hotel

They left for the States the following morning; Harry was excited to get back to London so that he could go to Diagon Alley and promised John he would get the kill done before the next Wednesday rolled around. John didn't say another word until they landed; he was wrapped up in thoughts about this boy who had so effortless become what he had strived to all his life and was now renown for, an efficient and deadly assassin for hire. Marcus had often told John that many in their business had wondered how long it would be until the baba yaga appeared on their door steps.

John was proud of the boy who sat by his side but he wondered if the boy was just putting on an act or if he was really comfortable with the life they led. John had spent years perfecting his craft but Harry, he was gifted. He was the true harbinger of death and one day John knew Harry would come for him but until that day he would make sure the boy met his goals and that he became everything he could.

"We're landing" Harry said

"Poor Jeffrey Sloan then" John said

"Death demands it and I demand a future so yeah. Poor Jeffrey Sloan" Harry said

Jeffrey Sloan would be the most difficult target for Harry to take on as they later found out; he was the middle man for a drug cartel and the CIA who were trying to destabilise a foreign government. This meant that both parties had a set of undercover agents in the man's business and that he was constantly surrounded by three or more bodyguards.

John dropped the file with all the relevant information on the table in front of Harry

"I don't think it will be possible before Wednesday" he said shaking his head. This was more than he usually dealt with and though it wasn't impossible the kid had to go it alone and that was what worried him. After a few hours Harry started pacing the room

"Sniper rifle won't work since he probably has bulletproof windows all around, both cars and houses" He said

"How will you get close to him?" John asked

"No, knives won't work either. I'm not going to get away with that this time, he always has a bodyguard" Harry said "Even here, she's a guard as well. She carries her knife in the same way I do" he pointed to the woman holding hands with the target

"Kid, sometimes I forget that you're only nine years old" John said impressed with the detail he had missed

"It's the life I've lived John, my relatives made sure I was an outcast and my uncle and cousin took it to a physical level by beating and starving me. So I've had to grow up" he shrugged

"Well at least you still like cartoons" John said and patted the boys head

"I think we need to blow him up" Harry said which caused John to choke on his drink

"What did you say?"

"We blow up the entire mansion with him in it" Harry said as if it was the simplest solution

"No, we don't attract attention like that. But explosives aren't a bad idea, think smaller" John advised

The next three days went by slowly but it did allow Harry to find a weak spot in the perimeter and a weak spot in the defences employed by Jeffrey. He never touched anything first; except for a package from his mother which arrived once a week. Harry checked on the delivery service and found that it was owned by the target which complicated matters as it was the front for smuggling the drugs over the border.

"What about the hole in the perimeter?" John asked looking over the boys notes

"A sewage pipe but it is entirely to small, even for me. We could sent a whole bunch of C4 up…" he started but the glare John was sporting stopped those thoughts

"Okay no explosions but I'm still thinking an explosive might help" Harry said pouting

"I agree, but it might not be necessary if you can find another solution" John said "Now come and eat your food" he said pouring himself a drink and sitting at the table

Harry ate his steak in silence, lost in the thoughts of how he would handle his latest target. He spent the rest of the night studying the blueprint of the building; it was an old building built in the forties and only received a wiring update a few years ago. The pipes were all copper pipes and the building was made out of wood.

Harry stifled his several yawns before he decided to call it a day and crawled into his bed. His dreams were filled with visions of electricity cracking across the horizon. When he woke he touched his scar but felt no pain so he tried to get back to sleep; he faced the same dreams when he eventually dozed off again.

He sat on the balcony watching the clear horizon and wondered where the dreams had come from. Lightning would not help him or maybe it would he thought jumping to his feet. Running inside and finding the blueprint once more

Electrocute the bastard through the copper pipes! He immediately checked his plan and it would work, now he just needed to know when the man would be in the shower and that he would only get be doing surveillance until Wednesday when he would make his move.

The days passed and he learned that the man took two showers a day. One when he woke and in the afternoon after he had a swim or spent some time in a gym. Harry had convinced John to be his lookout while he set up the trap through the sewage pipe and as he executed the plan.

The plan went off without a hitch and soon they were on their way back to the United Kingdom to meet the man who would tell them all about the magical world.

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN- Thank you for all the feedback so far. So here is**

 **Chapter 4 – Diagon Alley**

Harry and John sat in a coffee shop waiting for the man to arrive. John was still shocked at the amazing way Harry had taken out his target; it was ingenious and simple, a combination which would serve him extremely well going into the future. The sat having coffee and orange juice; John had not liked the idea of Harry using coffee as a crutch while he was still young so he tried to keep him on fruit juice, milk and water. The boy seemed to go along with it and trusting John absolutely.

"I spoke to Death last night" Harry said to him

"And? Is he happy with the progress you're making? Did he give you any more targets?" John asked checking his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"No he didn't, he said that he wasn't ready for them to be removed from the board yet and yes he is happy. He says that he can see that he has chosen the right servant to train me and says that your end of the bargain is complete" Harry said watching the man carefully. Death had explained that John would be free to walk away from Harry once Harry delivered the message and it was for that reason that the boy had made sure to pick his moment. He had thought about not telling John but he owed it to the man, he owed John his life and giving John his own freedom was just a small repayment

"Thank you for telling me Harry but I'd like to see you finish your deal as well so I'll stay by your side if that's okay with you?" He asked

"I'd like nothing more" he smiled and turned his attention back to his juice. He hated orange but this glass was freshly squeezed and wasn't too bad. This is what occupied his thoughts when Gregory Greengrass walked through the door with a slight limp. Saying that there was nothing special about the man would be sorely inaccurate and that was excluding the limp. His face looked as if he had been in a thousand fist fights and lost each and every one of them, he was going half very noticeably and he was not in the best shape. He sat down at their table and Harry noticed that he has piercing blue eyes and very few teeth.

"I don't even need to ask. I could feel his magic when I entered the room. And now that I've seen his face I know exactly who he is."

"If you call me the boy who lived those will be your last words" Harry said menacingly

"Good you'll need that passion to survive. Now let me introduce myself; I am Gregory Greengrass and I am what magical call a squib meaning I was born to a magical family but have no magic myself. I can however still tell you a great deal about the magical world as I have been involved in it thanks to my older brother who never neglected me, even when my parents threw me out. I'm telling you all this not for pity but purely so you understand why I have decided to pass on that kindness. Judging from your looks you're about 8 or 9 meaning you'll be at Hogwarts with my niece. If she needs help please pass on this kindness?" he said and seemed winded by the effort that speech had taken

"Of course. Now where do we start?" Harry asked and took out his note pad

"First you need to know that you aren't only famous for the fact that you surged the killing curse, the Potter's were always a well known family and formed part of the Ancient and Noble houses. Today most of them are on the verge of extinction, either financially or physically. You're going to have to deal with things such as marriage contracts and Wizengamot meetings once you turn seventeen. The Wizengamot is basically our highest law and court all in one, the make new laws and scrap old ones but also sit as judges in serious crimes. The Potter's were never popular in this arena as they always defended the rights of lesser beings as they were known but no one ever survived an honour duel with a Potter as they were skilled with wands and usually carried a spare knowing the threat in their lives. These are things you will have to deal with everyday, I know your line of work with Mr Williams here" he said pointing to John. Of course he would use a fake name Harry thought

"So I don't think this will be a big concern to you. Now lastly on the Potter family, they always had an alliance with the House Longbottom and it has served both houses well over the centuries. I would encourage you not to break from tradition there, House Longbottom has always produced powerful and knowledgeable wizards and witches. The latest Longbottom is a Neville Frank Longbottom and though he seems meek at this moment I think it may change should he get some training and find someone who does not constantly expect him to be his father"

"I will seek him out as soon as I start attending Hogwarts" Harry said

"Let's move onto Hogwarts then, what do you know of the place?" He asked

"Nothing other than it is the best school in Britain according to my source. He advised me to get training there" Harry explained

"A magical education would be a better term but if you prefer training then yes that's exactly what the place is. At the moment Albus Dumbledore is the Headmaster and has been for the last thirty years or so years and he is regarded as the most powerful wizard since Merlin, I think you will learn a lot there. The term starts on September 1st and you will be required to board the Hogwarts express at 11 am, since you're probably travelling Muggle you will be required to enter through King's Cross station. You will find the train at platform nine and three quarters" he said

"Don't waste our time Mr Greengrass" John said "There is no such platform"

"Oh but there is, you only have to walk into the wall between platforms nine and ten. Only a magical can get through the border and only between ten and eleven; so be on time otherwise the platform will seal itself" he explained

"That won't be a problem" Harry said

"One word of warning regarding magical education and this is more about the self-study. It is a dangerous mission to take on and I would advise following the Hogwarts curriculum for the first three years. I spent three years at St Mungos, which is our hospital, and the amount of injuries I've seen because students thought they were more advance then they actually were numbers in the hundreds. Three years will provide you with ample education and a solid base for any further studies" he explained

"I will be careful" Harry said and that seemed to satisfy the man

"Furthermore I would advise that when we head into the Diagon Alley today that you get books on the wizarding families and the laws and customs. Many muggle born children are lost when they enter our world and no one tries to address that, Johnathan has advised that those students take a wizards studies in place of muggle studies but as you will see the world is very backward from your muggle one" he said shaking his head

"What sort of training can I take on immediately?" Harry asked

"You could try potions, both the practical and theoretical aspects, as it is no different form cooking. Only more complex" he said and thought for a bit "I think that Legilimency and Occlumency should be safe to learn but the books will be expensive and many cannot perform the magic so I would advise you think about that for a moment before spending the money, the theory will help you organise your mind and that is about as much as the average witch or wizard gets. That would be about it, you could try learning a few languages such as Arabic and Latin since many spells and Runes work off these languages and will help in spell crafting."

"Anything else before we leave?" Harry asked

"No, I will take you into the Alley and then to the bank but after that I think you have received more than enough information" he said "Wouldn't want life to be too easy for you"

"Thank you" Harry said

"Give us a few minutes and we'll meet you outside Mr Greengrass" John said to the man

They watched him limp out of the café and John turned to face Harry

"Be careful with him, I don't buy the whole 'I'm doing out of the kindness of my heart' story, and keep your eyes open when we're in this Alley" John said in his tough American accent making sure Harry understood that he saw a possible danger "And remember that the shadows always protect us" he said to Harry

"Understood" Harry said recognising that this was the same way John had spoken when he showed Harry weapons

Neither of them could have been prepared for the wonder that Diagon Alley was; as soon as Mr Greengrass tapped the bricks and they folded away to reveal what it hid both of them were rendered speechless. The squib just laughed at their faces, all of the muggles were like this the first time they saw the Alley. It was vast and filled with every type of shop a magical could want and then some, and that was excluding Knockturn which included wares that even some a magical did not want. The walked down the way to the building which had a statue of a dragon on its roof; John chuckled when he saw it

"Something funny?" Gregory asked

"They have a mythical creature protecting the building?" he asked

"Dragons are real, it's where I got my limp boy" he said to John

"Dragons are real?" Harry said revealing his inner child

"As real as you and me" Gregory confirmed "Throw some gold a Goblin's way and they may even show you one of them" he said

"Don't fuck with us Gregory" John said menacingly

"I think this is where we say our goodbyes" The scarred man said "In those doors you'll find Goblin's to assist you. Good bye" and with that he turned and walked away from them

"Well kid, into the Dragon's den we go" John said sarcastically

When they exited the bank three hours later they both could not believe what had happened; from the moment they stepped into the building they were battling to keep their jaws hinged, it started with the opulence that the place displayed. Railings were made of gold and so were name plates and as if to balance out all the beauty of the buildings furnishings the occupants revealed themselves. Goblins were not a beautiful species, they were not even a species John would choose to interact with if he could help it and it was not just about their looks. They seemed to hate the two of them and treated them with disdain; the only smile John received was when he asked about Dragons and the Goblin told him that they'd see one in front of the Potter's vault and if Harry wasn't who he said he was then it would also be the last thing they would see.

John had realised that even after his meeting with Death there were still many things in this world which he put firmly in the realm of fiction and in one day he was being forced to acknowledge three or four of them. John looked at the boy who seemed to be thrilled that he was getting to be part of this world and the fact that he was a millionaire didn't seem to bother him. Harry's face became serious all of a sudden and he looked across the street, John followed his gaze and saw that Gregory Greengrass standing next to a man wearing oranges clothes, robes they were called he would learn later, and they were furiously talking about something

"I see him too" John said

"There's nothing we can do now, let's leave and return another day to do our shopping" Harry said

"I agree" John said and he could see the disappointment in the boy's face

"We can go do some muggle shopping" he said

"I need new clothes, mine are becoming a little small for me" Harry said smiling once more

"Maybe a haircut?" John offered seeing that the boy's hair was passing his shoulders now

"Or not" Harry said dismissing the man without second thought

"Marcus has been a bad influence" John said steering Harry through the crowd and as far from Gregory Greengrass

The man in the orange robes watched them intently; there was no mistaking Harry. He looked just like James, even with that long hair. He had thought the boy dead when his monitoring devices simply stopped reporting on whether the boy was living with his relatives

"Be careful Albus, that boy has Death's aura surrounding him" Gregory warned

"No one can see an Aura Gregory, you're simply getting old my dear friend" he said to the squib rather patronisingly

 **AN – So question, do you want to read about the other six targets or would you rather just have me skip over them? Just letting you know that he had taken care of them?**

 **I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 5 –**

The weeks became months for Harry and John; John had found another squib who had given them the same information that Gregory had given them.

"I guess he was being honest, only he was giving the man in the orange clothes information on us as well" Harry said

"So just a pawn" John said "We should be careful when we go to the Alley"

"Or we could go to France and find their Alley?" Harry said

"Are you sure that you still want to go to Hogwarts? We could find another way to take Albus Dumbledore out? I mean we don't even know what he looks like" John asked

"No I think the best way might be to get close to him so I'll need to work on my story" Harry said

"Okay remember to keep it simple" John said

"Okay I'll just say one day my relatives left me in London and you found me. You raised me and all you told me was that you stopped bad people?" Harry said

"Innocent and simple. It'll work but what if he knows about me? He is going to tell you the truth about me, what will you do then?" John asked him

"I'll ask him if the people you killed were bad people and if bad people shouldn't be stopped" Harry said "That should rattle him enough to have him think twice about talking to me regarding your job" Harry said

"Agreed, now get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll arrange our trip to France, I think we'll stay there until it's time to go to Hogwarts" John said

Death watched with interest as the two became bonded and considered his next move; if he gave Harry targets now the boy would certainly breeze through them. Death knew that it came down to how efficiently John had trained him; on the other hand delaying the targets would disrupt other plans, so he would leave the rest of the names with Harry. He summoned the folder and placed it into the mortal realm with a compulsion charm on it so that the boy would see it once he woke. He found it funny how they hadn't placed Dumbledore since the man was so peculiar but they didn't make any effort to figure out who he was, well it wouldn't be much longer until Harry bought his copy of Hogwarts; A history.

"If he finishes them off before his Hogwarts letter arrives then I will have to give him a gift of some sort" he said to the empty room and vanished from it to attend to other matters.

When Harry woke later the first thing he noticed was the folder on his desk; he jumped across the room and opened it finding the next six targets. He flicked the tabs and read the names;

 _Ruby Rivera – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil_

 _Diane Gonzalez – Zihuatanejo, Mexico_

 _Christina Morgan – London, United Kingdom_

 _David Bryant – Montreal, Canada_

 _Edward Patterson – Brachtendorf, Germany_

 _Benjamin Lopez – Tokyo, Japan_

He took a look at each photograph and started planning how best to approach the route; he could start in Brazil and then move up to Mexico then onto Canada. Maybe John would be interested in visiting Marcus while they were close to the States. Next he would take the long flight to Japan and then work his way back to London via Germany, it really depended on John's schedule and if they wanted to stay in France away from the man in the orange clothes.

He decided nothing would come of him pondering the matter on his own so he made his way into the lounge area and found John dressing in jogging attire.

"You're up early, would you like to join me?" John asked him

"Give me a few minutes, look at this" he said and handed the man the folder and then left the room to get dressed. Five minutes later they were on the road and running through their familiar route; it was always quite until around nine by which time Harry and John had already finished both their runs

"So how would you like to approach it?" John asked

"Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, Britain?" Harry suggested as they rounded another corner

"Are you concerned about being in London, so close to Diagon Alley?" John asked

"No, I was thinking about that this morning. Remember the looks the other patrons gave Gregory when he walked into the café?" Harry asked

"Yes, he was extremely hard to miss though"

"I think it'll be like that for all the wizards. They do enough to blend into society but their mannerisms still give them away. So we stay in London because it'll be more difficult for them to find us without them sticking out themselves" he explained

"I'm happy with that plan, but I want to move to the Continental. I've been avoiding it because it will bring you into the light and every assassin will get to know you but I can't delay it any longer as it is becoming more dangerous with magic being added into the equation"

"The Hotel where you're not allowed to conduct business?" Harry asked

"The same" John said

"Okay then, I think on the way back from Germany we could stop in France and get magic supplies?" he asked

"Can you wait that long?" John asked

"I think it would be best, throw anyone looking for us in the magical world for a bit of a loop since we don't know how long the next six will take" Harry answered

"Very mature Harry, we can go get new guns to make up for it" he said feeling proud that the boy was thinking tactically and not letting his excitement get the better of him

"Thanks" Harry smiled as he kept pace with John

"Let's sprint the last bit" he said and led the boy around the final turn increasing the pace

They entered the apartment and started their separate routines until these same routines required them to be together once more.

Over the following days arrangements were made for their departure to Brazil and let Marcus know that they would be close. Marcus offered to join them for the Mexico and Canada jobs if Harry promised that he would use his new rifle

Neither of the adults could believe the efficiency Harry operated with; it was as if the boy needed only a purpose to pour all his talent and potential into. His master had given him that and then a set of teachers who encouraged and motivated the boy into being better and doing more.

The first kill in Brazil required brutality; a trait John feared Harry would struggle to wield but was proven so terribly wrong. By day Ruby Rivera was a mechanic in a dingy alley and by night she fought in an underground ring, she lost more than she won but she was hailed as the toughest woman there. Harry entered the ring with her, as many younger participants had before; John was dead set against the plan since the woman had killed her previous opponent in a matter of minutes and he was twice John's size.

The fight lasted a total of nine minutes in which Harry received a broken rib and a blue eye and Ruby received a broken neck. It was spectacular watching the boy leverage her weight and flip her onto her head and John admitted that freely to Harry and later to Marcus when he was told the story.

Mexico provided Harry an opportunity to use explosives, even though it wasn't in the quantity he had hoped, they watched as Diane Gonzalez climbed onto her regular bus and sat in her regular seat which was at the window right at the back of the bus. Once Harry confirmed her identity he pressed the detonator which triggered the bomb he had planted in the side and back of her seat. They left Mexico via boat and arrived in the Canada a week after that

Marcus sat Harry down on the boat ride and had some frank discussions with him and his future; Harry had appreciated it since Marcus explained everything about the Continental and his registration. Marcus and John would vouch for him and he was to remain with them at all times for the first few days. Marcus took the time to talk to Harry about the people had taken care of and how he felt about it

"I want a life Marcus" he said simply "And that life comes with a cost of ten lives, the position I am in today is so much better than the one I found myself in almost two years ago. John and our associate have guaranteed me a better life, will I be doing this after number ten? I can't answer that question" Harry said honestly

"How do you feel about having taken three lives? Do they deserve it?" Marcus pushed

"I deserve it, a better life that is and I will do what it takes to get what I deserve" Harry said to his friend

"One last question, would you want to do this job?" Marcus asked already happy that the boy was safe, mentally and physically. John would be proud to hear

"I wouldn't mind it; I've seen that the regular world, the one everyone sees, requires this function to work" he explained and watched the older man smile and felt him pat his head

"I hope you're the one who arrives at my doorstep when the time comes Kid" he said and left the compartment

Canada and Tokyo ended up being Marcus specials as Harry liked to call them; both were made from over 700 yards away. Harry received a new scope and gun cleaning kit from Marcus for a job well done

Edward Patterson was caught in a factory fire while working overtime, fire marshals were puzzled as the source of the fire was his own office but the man never made it out. They declared the death a suicide and signed off the papers. John had given Harry the challenge of making it look like an accident or suicide and the boy obliged

Christina Morgan from London was having a terrible day; first she was late to work thanks to some construction on the road to work and then she suffered an electric shock from a faulty printer in the office and to top off her day she received a written warning at work for repeated time-keeping offenses. The warning was overdue as she had been working two jobs since she had been trying to pay off student debts and she was in a permanent state of exhaustion which made it increasingly difficult to get up every morning. She sped across town in an attempt to make her next job in time, a yawn threatened to escape her and she let it. Stretching slightly she let her eyes close

Unfortunately for her she had Harry gambling on her death; if he succeeded then he could open his crate of magical supplies today. He reflected on the last eighteen months on the road and his time in the various Continental hotels and felt that he was missing a key part of himself. John had allowed Harry to do almost whatever he wanted; he grew his hair as long as he liked and set his own schedule since Canada. But he felt a calling from his magic that was the best way he could explain it. It had never happened before, he guessed that before he had been too busy trying to survive to notice something he knew nothing about but now he needed it

He watched as the traffic light turned red in front of Christina and saw the car keep its momentum as it slammed into the bus which was crossing. He watched as the scene filled with onlookers and paramedics, they called her death as soon as they arrived.

Harry immediately disappeared from the scene, not voluntarily. Death had plucked him from the scene and into the same room he had appeared in the day he narrowly avoided the bus.

"Congratulations Harry James Potter, you have completed all the non-magic kills" he praised

"And now only Albus Dumbledore remains" Harry said

"Correct, now you won't get more than one opportunity to kill him. I need you to do it in your sixth year, until then Albus needs to be unaware of your mission and our deal. So make sure this is the case, if you fail it will cost you your life and damn the entire magical community to suffering under Voldemort as he can still return" Death explained

"Understood" Harry said

"Now I vowed to give you a gift if you completed the kills before your Hogwarts letter arrived and you have" he said "Here, take this" he said and presented Harry with a box

"What is it?" he asked

"That is question number three I believe" Death mentioned "Open it"

Harry opened the box and saw a piece of wood about fifteen inches long, it was black in colour and perfectly smooth. It started out at around one and a half centimetres in diameter at its base and narrowed down to a half a centimetre at its tip.

"What is it?" he asked

"It is a wand, made from African Blackwood and has a core of Thestral hair. It is the second wand I have put into the world and it is just as good as the other. Now Albus Dumbledore has the other and you are now on the same footing as far as equipment is considered"

"Thank you" Harry said

"Using it will result in the Trace being nullified" he explained "Now off you go!" he said and snapped his fingers and Harry disappeared.

He woke in his bed with the box on his chest and grinned; it was time for magic!

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow. Next Chapter we will be going to Hogwarts… Maybe**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 6 – Hogwarts, Hat stalls and sadly no dragons**

Harry found a compartment on the train and settled in for the long ride, he had no clue what awaited him. He had read Hogwarts: A history multiple times and had memorised everything that had happened at Hogwarts since it apparently had opened, he wasn't a fool to think that a single book would cover everything but there were no other sources of information.

He closed his eyes and checked all his mental shields; the book on Occlumency and Legilimency had helped him set shields and read people's minds. John had also gained benefits from reading the books; both of them were more organised and methodical when they approached a problem and their thoughts were clearer. He was happy that his mind bank was a fortress that no one could penetrate so he went over his subjects that he was going to be covering this year.

Potions, he had already gotten comfortable with the subject. John advised him to try out three different potions books they had gotten; the Hogwarts prescribed book and two other junior potion brewing books, they differed slightly on the method but the ingredients remained constant. He had put together a little note book on the best methods for each potion in the first year book

Defence against the dark arts interested him but not as much as the dark arts themselves did, they were complex and required focus and conviction. Much like Transfiguration and charms which he knew would be useful in all manner of professions in both the magical and non-magical worlds. Defence against the dark arts seemed like a subject that most wizards and witches would be able to do

Herbology and care of magical creatures interested him because he'd be able to see all the weird and wonderful plants and creatures that this world held. He felt childlike curiosity the more he read about these different creatures he once thought were mythical and now he would get to see some of them.

Astronomy and History of Magic seemed interesting but he wasn't looking forward to history lessons as he prepared to study it on his own.

He heard the door open and he lazily opened his eyes; a shy boy stood at the door, he had blonde hair and was short and pudgy.

"Hi, may I join you?" he asked

"Sure, do you need help with you trunk?" Harry asked standing

"Yes please, Gran forgot her wand at home so she couldn't cast a feather light charm" he said slightly embarrassed

"No problem, I'm Harry by the way" He said as they lifted the trunk to where it needed to be

"Neville" the boy huffed "Longbottom and this is Travis" he said holding a frog for Harry to see

"You should put him in his cage before he escapes" Harry pointed to the toad

"He doesn't like the cage" Neville said and looked at his toad

"It's not about what he likes or not, it's about what is safer for him" Harry said thinking back to the early days with John and the training

"I guess you're right" he said shoving Travis into his cage

"Good" Harry began but was cut off as the door opened once more to let in a girl with a bushy head of brown hair

"Hi there, got space for one more?" she asked

"Yes we do, do you need help with your trunk?" Harry offered again

"No thank you. My parents spent the extra money on a built in feather light charm" she said and easily put her trunk next to Neville's and Harry's

"I'm Hermione Granger" she said

"Neville Longbottom" the shy boy said

"Harry Potter" Harry said since he couldn't avoid giving his surname without being suspicious

"Really?" Neville asked

"Yes Neville, we need to have a discussion sometime when we're alone" Harry said and gave the boy a serious look

"Gran said you might want to" he said understanding

"So are both of you Purebloods?" Hermione asked

"I am, and as far as I know Harry is a half-blood since his mom was Muggleborn. What about you?" Neville asked

"I'm a Muggleborn" she said "Why do we have this division though?" she asked Neville but Harry answered

"To control the masses, a people divided is easier to control. By saying Purebloods are better and Muggleborns are the lowest you create a society where those with a better status only keep that company and opportunities are only given to people in that class. Many governments have fallen prey to the 'superior race' illusion and in the end they all fall" he said thinking of the news from South Africa

"Like Hitler and the Nazi's" Hermione said

"Exactly" Harry smiled "But on to less dreary topics, which houses do you guys hope to be placed in?" he asked as the train started moving

"Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw" Neville said

"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw" Hermione answered

"Why those?" Harry asked his two cabin mates

"Well I love learning and I've always been atop my class so I think Ravenclaw is the natural fit whereas Gryffindor is where Albus Dumbledore was" Hermione said as if the comment about Dumbledore explained everything. Harry had ran to John when he saw the picture of Albus in one of his books, he was the man in the orange robes. Why he had such an interest in Harry was mostly obvious and played into the raven haired boy's hands

"I just don't want to be in Slytherin or Gryffindor" Neville said "I'm not ambitious or cunning or brave" the boy said

"Well I hope for Slytherin" Harry said "Ambition is rewarded and encouraged and I plan on being great! Greater than Merlin" he said proudly and watched their reactions

Hermione was intrigued by the boy who was claimed to have defeated Voldemort; surely he could be great? She would watch and see. Neville was horrified that someone would willing choose to be in Slytherin knowing the history of that house

"We'll be friends no matter where each of us go right?" Neville asked

"The Potters and Longbottoms will always be friends Nev" Harry ventured the nickname and saw the boy smile

"And the Grangers?" Hermione asked slightly shy now, she had never been good at making or keeping friends

"New to the alliance but equally valued" Harry said and watched Neville nod enthusiastically

Hermione smiled at this strange boy with the long sleek black hair and piercing green eyes who had claimed her as a friend and ally. He smiled brightly and spoke confidently which gave a sense of peace in their cabin, he was their leader and unbeknown to them they would end up following him through all his adventures bar one. The trolley made its rounds and all three bought something to eat and each shared freely

The ride was filled with comparisons of their lives and helping Neville understand the muggle world. Both Hermione and Harry promised that they would make plans to see Neville during the holidays so that everyone could share in both worlds

"So what do you two do for fun?" Neville asked

"I read and I can play the piano, but I don't know if Hogwarts will have one for me to play. I also do Yoga with my mom so I'll try and keep that up too" Hermione said

"I train in the mornings" Harry said to confused faces "My guardian is a bodyguard and showed me some training techniques and I run in addition to that" he explained

"That it?" Neville asked Harry

"I like playing chess as well" he offered "And reading and watching movies" he added

"What is a movie?" Neville asked which led into another long discussion about Muggles and the non-magical world

After an hour or two they were told to change into their robes and minutes later they were loaded into boats. The trip across the lake was beautiful and slow so the trio had further time to discuss what they were looking forward to the most; for Neville it was the greenhouses and for Hermione and Harry it was the library which was rumoured to be the biggest magical library.

They arrived at the castle and all three jaws dropped; it was massive and glorious. They were ushered into the castle and left in the entry hall.

"Another Weasley" they heard someone say, Hermione turned and saw a platinum blonde standing in front of a redhead boy "How can your parents even afford to send you here?" he continued

"Shut it Malfoy" the redhead said and his face almost matched his hair

"I'll make you a deal Weasley, shine my shoes every day and I'll give you a sickle?" he laughed

Hermione lunged forward but Harry stopped her

"He needs to fight his own battles, each of us has to. If you help him now you'll only be putting yourself in the firing line and he will pick on your blood status" He warned her

"I agree Hermione, also it's unheard of to have more than two or three children in the magical world and the Weasleys have seven" he explained

A witch emerged from behind the doors and stood in front of the group; she looked across the group and saw a bunch of nervous faces, no doubt they had been told some story about fighting a mountain troll

"Welcome to Hogwarts, I am professor McGonagall; the head of house for Gryffindor and the deputy headmistress. In a moment I will lead you through the doors and into the great hall for the sorting; all breakfasts, lunches and suppers will be taken in this hall" she said and listened for a second "It is time" she said and turned on her heels.

Once the doors opened the first years were led through the middle of the hall; two tables to their left, Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and two table to their right, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. They lined up in the front of the hall and Professor McGonagall started the sorting

For Minerva it was as every year; students were excited and anxious, but the hat done its job perfectly. She wondered if she'd be able to pick him out of the group but she didn't have the time to try so she'd have to wait until she called his name to get a look at the son of James and Lily.

"Hermione Granger" she called and watched the girl take a seat and wait on the hats decision which took longer than usual, ah a hat stall. They were rare and the students always proved interesting

"Ravenclaw" the hat eventually shouted

The list went on with students being sorted; one more hat stall in Neville Longbottom who went to Hufflepuff and then she got to the name she was waiting for

"Harry Potter" she called out and watched the boy walk up to the stool. He was about the height of all his peers and seemed to weigh slightly less but in the way athletes were; she had been worried when Albus left him with those Muggles

He sat in the chair and had the hat put on him; seconds later it shouted

"Slytherin!" which drew gasps from the hall but was not heard because the house of green and silver erupted as if they had won the house cup.

Harry straightened his robes and joined the house being seated between a couple of first year girls by one of the prefects

"Hi, I'm Daphne" the blonde girl said with a hint of a smile on her face

"And I'm Pansy" the dark haired girl said with a much broader smile

The sorting wrapped up and the feast was enjoyed by all the Slytherin students; the rest of the hall was wrapped in discussion about how a Potter was in Slytherin. After the meal Dumbledore made a few announcements that Harry thought were a waste of time since all the students would break all the rules he had set out for them.

As Albus dismissed them he walked past his potions master

"Severus a word please" he said and paused "Best bring Minerva along, the woman looks absolutely shocked"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Since I was changing the story already I decided to go with Travis instead of Trevor. Surprising the amount of people who mentioned that**

 **But anyway**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 7 – First week**

Severus Snape sat across from Albus Dumbledore; watching the old man try and fit this new information into his plans for the Potter boy. He couldn't believe that a Potter was in Slytherin, the only other instance of a break in tradition that Severus was aware of was Sirius Black who was from a traditionally Slytherin family and then ended up in Gryffindor. Maybe he could get word to the dog that his best friend's son was in the house he hated the most.

Minerva came into the office still looking shocked to her core

"Albus surely the hat must be wrong this time" she complained

"Minerva there is no possibility of the hat being wrong" he said as if he was talking to a child

"Has either of you thought that maybe the boy wants to be in Slytherin?" Severus asked and received a hateful glare from Minerva

"How could he?" Minerva asked

"Ambition and cunning? Hasn't the boy been missing for three or more years with some guardian who is rumoured to be an assassin?" Severus asked bored with this discussion, surely the boy would be just as useless as his idiot father

The same discussion was being had across the castle, except for the Slytherin common room where Harry was sitting and having a discussion with Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass. They were discussing the reaction that they had seen from the rest of the school; Harry found it interesting that the school were so shocked by it and the two boys were surprised that Harry wanted to be in Slytherin

"Aren't you supposed to be one of the good guys?" Blaise asked

"Are Slytherin's the bad guys?" Harry asked

"Well Ambition and Cunning has recently been looked at as a bad thing or so our esteemed Headmaster thinks" one of the older years said joining the conversation "I'm Terrence Chase" he said

"Nice to meet you" Harry said "Well we'll just have to prove him wrong" Harry shrugged

"Potter!" the Platinum blonde said stepping into the conversation and shoving Terrence aside "I'm Draco Malfoy, time to stop hanging around with the bottom of the cauldron families and join my team" he said as two lumps stepped in beside him

"Bottom of the cauldron" Terrence said and approached Draco only to be cut off by his bodyguards

"Crabbe and Goyle would love a fight Chase" he smirked and turned to Harry "So?"

"I think not Draco, your team is nothing but bullies who probably don't have a single cunning bone between you. How those two ended up in Slytherin I have no idea as they seem happy to follow your lead" Harry said

"They know which families are better than the rest" he said to Harry and stepped within arms-length

"Better how?" Harry asked "Magically stronger? Physically stronger? Better at controlling magic? More wealthy? Physically beautiful?" he fired off in rapid succession

"All of the above" Draco said proudly

"Okay then, I see you're delusional. Let's drop the discussion and turn in" he said more to his friends than to Draco. Harry turned on his heel and walked away but was grabbed by Crabbe and Goyle

"Let go or you will end up in the infirmary" he said menacingly and both boys looked at Draco who was pulling out his wand

Harry felt their hands tighten around his arms and decided on his course of action; he was the same height as the two goons so he dropped to his knees pulling them forward and down with him. They stumbled and let go of his arms and pulled their wands as well

"What is the meaning of this?" A stern voice asked from behind the crowd "Three on one, hardly seems fair" Severus said to the three boys

"Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy detention for cowardice, a week each with me" he said since no one said a word

"Yes sir" they said and stowed their wands

"No get out of my sight before the entire house faces detention" he sneered and watched the common room empty within seconds "Potter, stay behind" he said catching the raven hair in the crowd

"Yes Potions Master Snape?" he asked calmly as if he had the situation under control

"Why did you not pull your wand?" he asked

"I could best them without it" Harry said

"Very well, you will need to protect yourself in this house" he started

"Excuse me Sir, I don't. I was getting along well with most of the people in the house until Malfoy and his bookends arrived. He spouted off about better families and how I should join him, I said no and made my leave. I think he is the one who will need to protect himself, honestly I don't know how he ended up in Slytherin as it seems he didn't think further than his nose" Harry said clearly and calmly

"Well then Mr Potter I will address this with him in detention. One more thing? Why did you call me Potions Master?" he asked not being used to someone using his official title

"Because it's a higher honour than Professor and should be treated as such. The same would apply to Professor McGonagall but she hold a Deputy Headmistress role and as such her Transfiguration Mastery takes second place, is it not?" he asked feeling confused

"You are correct Mr Potter, now off to bed." He dismissed the boy "And remember that if you need anything my door is always open"

"I will make sure to remember Potions Master" he said and smiled his eyes twinkling brighter than Albus could ever hope

"Lily, I will protect him" he said silently as he left the room

The following morning Harry ran around the grounds in a track pants and t-shirt taking in the smells and sounds of a sleeping Hogwarts. He ran up to the owlery and sent of his letter to Marcus and his letter to John, he wasn't sure how many owls he could use at once but figured that since there were hundreds here he'd be safe. Maybe he would look into getting an owl when he was back home

He ran back into the castle and down the halls till he reached the dungeons; he entered the common room and then the dormitory where all his year mates were still sleeping. Standing under the shower of hot water he thought about how he needed to find an exercise room soon so he could set up his shrunken training equipment. He would have to asked Potions Master Snape about a room to use

When he entered the great hall dressed in his robes he saw Hermione at the Ravenclaw table waving at him; he returned her greeting and decided to see Neville first who was sitting with a two girls and having an animated discussion

"Morning Neville" he said smiling

"Hi Harry" all three said back to him

"I don't believe we've been introduced yet" he said to the redheaded girl and the blonde girl

"I'm Susan Bones and my blonde friend here is Hannah Abbott" she said smiling

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" he smiled back at them "So how is Hufflepuff?" he asked taking a seat

"It's so great, last night we did some trust exercises with Professor Sprout. How's Slytherin house? Make any news friends?" Neville asked smiling

"A few, and a few enemies but they're not important. I'll come by once I have my schedule and we can compare?" he offered

"That would be great, see you after breakfast then" Neville said to his friend as Harry got up

"Visiting the Puffs so early?" Theo asked

"More Neville than the house but yeah, How are those three?" he asked pointing to Malfoy and his goons

"Mad that Professor Snape took your side" Theo explained "The Professor is Malfoy's godfather"

"I see, I'll have to be more cunning than them. Not that it would be difficult" he said causing Theo to spray pumpkin juice across the table

"Stop it" he said still laughing "Here comes Daphne and Pansy so you better behave"

"Good morning Harry" the said and sat next to Theo

"Morning Ladies, sleep well?" he asked dishing himself a selection of fruits and grabbing a jug of milk

"We did, so what were you two discussing?" Daphne asked

"Just Harry's array of allies" Theo said pointed to Hermione and Neville occasionally looking over

"At least the Granger girl and Neville are giving us all friendly glances, look at the youngest Weasley" Pansy laughed which lead the entire group to laugh at the ridiculous features the youngest redhead at Gryffindor was wearing

"Potter why did I get stopped by three different Gryffindor's demanding we return you to them" Blaise asked as he sat down "And what the hell is wrong with the redhead at Gryffindor? Is he choking?" he asked which caused the four others to laugh louder

"Apparently everyone feels I should have been sorted into Gryffindor" he said shrugging

"Idiots" Daphne muttered and Blaise nodded at her

"It seems that you five are having a wonderful time" Professor Snape said as he handed out schedules

"Just trying to liven up the mood Potions Master" Harry said and accepted his timetable

"Slytherin's aren't typically known for being the ones bringing life to the mood Mr Potter but your efforts seem to be working. Mr Flint has even dared to smile this morning" he said and strode to the staff table

"Wow, you seem to have made an impression. What's with the Potions Master thing?" Pansy asked

"He holds a Potions Mastery, that is a more honoured position that Professor so that's what he should be called. But it seems that he is aware that most people don't really understand the Hierarchy of titles so he lets Professor slide" Harry explained and checked over his timetable "And we only have Potions on Wednesday which is disappointing"

"Charms with the Claws first and then Transfiguration with the Puffs" Blaise said "At least we only see the Lions in class tomorrow in Care"

"Not looking forward to that. It can't be avoided so let's go get our bags" Harry said and they left the table

Charms was a fun lesson where they first received a long speech about the dangers of magic and the dangers of poorly applied theory. Then they covered the theory on the levitation charm, the class end too quickly for Harry who was like a sponge; absorbing everything that they were taught.

Transfiguration started with the same speech about the dangers of magic and the dangers of poorly applied theory. Professor McGonagall showed them her Animagus transformation and explained that not all wizards could accomplish this but it was something for them to strive for, she started with her theory on transfiguration and how every level only increased in difficulty but always built on what had come before.

"Some of the most difficult transfiguration exercises are to transfigure with a partner and while there is twice the magic to work with it takes massive amounts of concentration and determination. This will be covered in fourth year, we will however be starting with the simplest transfiguration which is turning an inanimate object into another inanimate object of similar size"

They covered the theory and were each handed a single match to transfigure into a needle, no one succeeded which the Professor expected. Every new subject they went to started with the same speech about being careful and never experimenting on your own; at the end of the week Harry was able to give his friends the speech about breakfast which caused Theo to choke on his pumpkin juice once more. What Harry had found comforting was that with the amount of work they covered there was no time for Gryffindor's to approach him, he knew this would come to an end sooner or later and he would have to explain that he was happy in Slytherin

When they entered the Potions lab on Wednesday morning Harry was so excited he couldn't contain himself; here he would be able to brew with one of the most respected Potions Masters, who also happened to be the youngest wizard to achieve his Mastery in Potions.

Severus Snape stood at his desk and watched the first years pour into the room, Gryffindor's and Slytherin's. Damn fate for this mixture, he would have to keep an eye on Draco and the Weasley boy

"Quiet" he said in his stern voice "There will be no silly wand waving here and you will pay attention to what is being said and being done as a mistake could cost you or another student their lives" he said leaving no room for argument

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" he asked the boy who had been furiously scribbling something

"You can make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death, Potions Master" he answered

"Correct. 5 points to Slytherin" he nodded "Weasley! What is a bezoar?"

"How should I know?" the boy asked and his friends sniggered

"It is clearly written in your text. 10 points from Gryffindor for disrespect" he sneered and rounded on the blonde" Malfoy? Care to answer the question?"

"I haven't covered that chapter yet, Professor" he answered

"That is strange since it is in Chapter one of your text, 5 points from Slytherin. Undoing Mr Potter's hard work" he said and pointed to another one of his snakes "Nott? Care to try"

"A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons." The boy answered

"Correct. 5 points to Slytherin" he nodded "Lastly, Brown what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

The girl in question simply shrugged

"5 points form Gryffindor. Greengrass?" he asked

"Monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, and I think it's also called aconite" she answered

"Correct. 10 points to Slytherin" he nodded "Now let us begin"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 8 – To the skies**

Harry and Neville walked down to the field where they were supposed to have their flying lessons

"So how does this alliance thing work?" Harry asked

"Well it's simple actually, our houses support each other in their endeavours and follow each other into battle when necessary. Financial support can be given as well" Neville explained "I don't know how much help I'll be in a fight. You saw how terrible I was in charms and transfiguration" he said

"You're wand seems very old though" Harry said

"It was my dad's" he said proudly

"Well according to the charms textbook your wand channels your magic, so you need to find the best wand to channel yours" he answered

"I'll have a look" Neville answered

"You should as soon as possible, your grades will be affected by it. So go and speak to your head of house or Deputy Headmistress McGonagall to take you to get a new one" Harry advised

"I will go after flying lessons" he said solemnly

"So is there anything else you'd like to tell me regarding alliances?" Harry asked

"There's usually marriages contracts involved between alliances and sometimes that is how they begin" he explained as they arrived to the field "If you look at the Malfoys and the Parkinson's for example; Draco and Pansy are the beginning of that alliance but that alliance is based on financial support for the Parkinson's and it gives the Malfoys a stronger foothold in Britain" he explained pointing to the platinum blonde

"Does House Longbottom have any marriage contracts?" Harry asked

"We do. Three that will affect me and once I become the Head of House Longbottom I will cancel any others that may affect anyone going forward. We have one with the Potter's where a man of the family can marry a woman from the other, now if either of us were a girl we could satisfy the contract; but because of the way it was written it also means should either of us have a daughter the other could offer to marry her" he gave Harry a funny look "That contract however can be cancelled by either party once we turn fourteen because our alliance is based on friendship going back hundreds of years. The only other alliance like it is the one between House Black and House Potter but that alliance has died out just before the war with Voldemort"

"I saw a Black in my family somewhere, I think it was my grandmother Dorothy or Dorea or something. I'll write the Goblins and see if they can find something" he said thinking

"Good idea, I'll ask gran to send me some of the books on magical contracts and marriage contracts" Neville said

"Are they that complicated?" Harry asked

"They're like parchment, if you went into any writing shop and asked for parchment what would you get?"

"Parchment?" Harry offered

"Yes but how many different kinds?" Neville pressed

"Honestly Nev I don't know" Harry answered

"Tons Harry. I use spill resistant parchment because I'm clumsy and Parvati uses scented parchment, Padma uses softer parchment since she writes so lightly and those idiots" he pointed at Crabbe and Goyle "Probably use a firmer parchment, I digress though. That's how varied contracts are, yes there's the standard contract but there is also variations upon variations" he explained

They heard a whistle go off

"Now for the hard part" Neville shook his head

"Come on it'll be okay Neville" Harry said slapping the boy on the shoulder

"Alright class" a grey haired witch said smiling "Today we learn how to fly, no one is allowed to do anything but follow my instructions. Detentions and point deductions await any show offs. Now each of you go to a broom and hover your wand arm over the broom" she explained and watched the entire group of first years go to the brooms

"Now say 'up'" she instructed and then had the field filled with shouts of up. She was impressed to see that majority of the class managed to get their brooms up. Though the Longbottom boy looked frightened that he had

"Flying is an art form and very few witches and wizards ever manage to get extremely proficient at it, seekers in Quidditch are rare because their flying skill is natural and intuition based. Now I'd like everyone to mount their brooms kick off and hover and then land again" she instructed and once more most of her class managed to perform the action but it was while she was instructing Malfoy to pay more attention when the Granger girl went soaring and was chased by the Potter boy

Harry saw her lose control of the broom which she was struggling with; she bolted straight forward and then straight upward narrowly missing Padma Patil. Harry took off and chased the wild broom

"Hermione let go!" he shouted but she only tightened her grip on the broom eventually hugging it to ensure she stayed on it. He found it easy following the random path of the broom; it reminded him of following someone with the scope. Eventually he made his move; lining his broom up with hers so that they were flying side by side and then grabbing the handle of the broom with his right hand while trying to control his own with his left. Her broom continued fighting against control but he managed to land safely and helped her off the broom which went soaring away once he let go

"Mr Potter" he heard the baritone of his Potions master say flatly

"Yes Potions Master Snape" he said turning to face the man

"While your rescue attempt was a fantastic display of skill and heroism it was against the rules. Detention with me tonight and fifty points from Slytherin" he said shaking his head "You better catch the snitch in the first game to make up for it" he said walking away

"I'm going to take Ms Granger to the hospital wing" the witch said and waved her wand causing all the brooms to fall to the floor "I shall return to continue the lesson" she said and ushered Hermione away

"You see, Harry Potter belongs in Gryffindor! Bravery is in his nature!" Ron Weasley shouted

"I believe I am happy in Slytherin" Harry said still smiling

"Well done Harry" Theo said stepping in front of Ron "That was some flying"

"Why did you save the Claw though? She a friend of yours" Blaise asked

"Yeah Potter, consorting with Mudbloods already?" Malfoy taunted

"Malfoy just shut up" Theo said casually

"She is actually, my friend that is" Harry said turning to Theo

"You're being brain washed Harry, come to Gryffindor" Ron shouted

"Listen here Ronald, I chose Slytherin. The hat spoke to me and I told it where I want to be, now stop this nonsense" Harry said to the redhead who looked shocked to the core

"You chose Slytherin, but they're evil" Ronald stammered out

"And you're poor" Malfoy stated

"Shut it Malfoy" the redhead said

"I think it's our escape" Harry said stepping backward and pulling Theo and Blaise along

"You must be the youngest seeker ever" Theo said to him

"Probably, I'll have to ask Potions Master Snape if he can take me to Diagon Alley to get a broom" Harry said thoughtfully

"You're in the running of becoming his favourite student and Malfoy seems to be losing favour more and more as the week progresses" Daphne said stepping into the circle of Slytherins

"Nice flying Harry" Neville said passing the group

"Thanks Nev" Harry smiled back at his friend "Join us" he offered

"Sure" the shy boy said and stood beside Harry

"Everybody, Neville and Neville this is Daphne, Blaise, Theo and Pansy" he said pointing out his housemates

"Nice to meet all of you" he smiled at them

"So Neville are you going to show off some flying skills as well?" Pansy asked "Since you're Harry's best friend you must have them hidden as well" she smiled genuinely at Neville

"No no, that is all Harry's forte" he said nervously

"Relax Longbottom, no one is going to throw you out a window here" Theo said

"Yeah, you're among friends" Blaise said having heard about Neville's late onset of accidental magic. It was almost as famous as his scarred friend

"Window?" Harry asked

"Only you Harry Potter would not know" Daphne shook her head "Do you mind Neville?" she asked

"No go ahead" he said shrugging

"When Neville was little his family thought he was a squib because he didn't perform accidental magic like all of us" she indicated to the group excluding Harry and Neville "One day a drunk uncle took him by the ankle and threw him out the window" she said to Harry

"That is awful, how could your family let that happen?" Harry asked the boy

"They all wanted me to be brave and powerful" Neville said quietly

"We'll show them" Harry said solemnly

"Here comes Madam Hooch, let's get back to our brooms" Pansy said already making her way to hers

The rest of the lesson Harry and Neville had small conversations regarding both their upbringing; it bothered Harry that he couldn't tell Neville the full truth but he promised himself that he would always be honest as he could with Neville. The lesson ended and both boys left smiling knowing that they had solidified their friendship.

Harry walked into detention and found Severus sitting at his desk; he sat across from his Head of House.

"You need to be careful Mr Potter, attention is a dangerous thing for those who are ambitious and cunning. I know what you done today was to save Ms Granger but remember that that we have better means to heal a student than muggles" he said looking into those green eyes

"I will sir" he agreed

"Now, tomorrow is Sunday and I plan on going to the Alley. Would you like to accompany me so that you can get a broom? Or would you like to have the broom arrive and make a huge spectacle of yourself?" he understood from the older man's tone that the latter was not going to happen

"Tomorrow is perfect, would you be able to advise me on a broom sir?" he asked

"No, I have no interest in brooms. Ask Mr Flint, he is the Quidditch captain" he said "But enough of that, it's time for your detention. I want you to re-label all the potions in the cupboard and do an inventory list" he said

"No time like the present" Harry smiled and got to work. He found that working with his Potions Master was much like being with John at home. It was peaceful, organised and relaxing to his soul

Yes, he was going to enjoy any detentions with Severus Snape

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites. You're the best readers a fanfiction writer could ask for**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 9 – Trolls! And not the fun kind. Wait, are there fun trolls?**

Defence against the dark arts was even more boring than usual; Professor Quirrell seemed to stammer through his lesson plans constantly and never really addressed questions that students asked. Blaise and Theo usually stole whatever notes Daphne made which she usually copied off Harry since his notes were more detailed than any one else's. The left the class room and headed to the great hall where they found their usual spot at the Slytherin table but Harry continued his march to the staff table where Severus was sitting.

"Potions Master, may I have a word?" he asked

"What is the matter Mr Potter?" he asked

"Sir I know I do not speak for myself when I say defence is a waste of time. Half the time I'm stuck trying to understand what is being said and the other half I'm trying to avoid his constant stare" he said evenly "Please could you address this with the Headmaster?" he asked

"I will talk to the Headmaster Mr Potter" he advised and watched the boy return to his friends who immediately started interrogating him

"What was all that about?" Blaise asked

"I can't take Quirrell anymore, he is hindering our progress" Harry shrugged "We've put up with him for almost two months and what have we learned except the fact the his stutter seems to get worse with every passing class"

"Enjoy your Halloween Harry, no use fighting the festivities" Blaise said and shoved a pumpkin pie in Harry's mouth

"I know where you sleep Zabini" he said menacingly "And…" he said but was cut off by shouting

"Troll! Troll in the castle" Quirrell came barrelling into the great hall "Just thought you ought to know" and then fainted

There was a heartbeat of silence before chaos ensued, the Gryffindor's all pulled their wands and made for the doors which immediately slammed closed.

"Silence!" the Headmaster boomed "Prefects please escort the students to their common rooms" he said and watched as the students were organised and moved out of the hall. Harry walked beside Daphne who was holding his hand, terrified.

"It'll be okay" he said pulling her along "Come on we're right at the back of the group" he said and tried picking up the pace but Daphne stopped in her tracks

Harry stopped to look at his blonde friend; he saw terror in her eyes. The look made her look terribly cute but this was not the fun Daphne that teased Theo about his surname or made horrible puns with it. He followed her line of sight and saw the troll

"Daphne whatever you do, do not…" he started calmly but then she shrieked "Scream" he finished deflated.

The troll turned and barrelled down the hall; when it had halved the distance between them it threw its club at the two kids. Harry pushed Daphne left and he fell to the right; now he had to act. He was happy playing the innocent school child, he assessed the situation; the opponent was bigger than he was but it was slow in close quarters. He slipped a knife from his sleeve and stepped closer to the beast. The troll swung a heavy fist but Harry simply ducked the punch and stab the troll in the ankle with as much force as he could; the knife sunk into the skin and cracked the bone. He'd have to write John and tell him the knives they picked up in Diagon Alley were amazing; he was pulled from his thoughts when the troll slapped him away. He stood and wiped the blood from his lip and pulled a second knife from his sleeve since the first was still stuck in the troll's ankle.

He attacked again this time at a bigger advantage since the troll couldn't put pressure on his left ankle. Harry darted for the right ankle and lodged another knife in the bone causing the troll to let out a scream that shook the walls of the corridor. Stepping on its back Harry pulled his two more knives out of his sleeve and stabbed the creature in the spine and braced as it fell to the ground. Now the beast was flailing around in pain; Harry took his last two knives and lodged them into the brain of the troll and then there was silence.

"What is going on here?" The Deputy Headmistress asked and then saw Harry retrieving his knives "Mr Potter what is the meaning of this?"

"The troll was coming for us Deputy Headmistress" he pointed to the club lodged into the wall "I needed to protect Daphne and myself so I took action" he said wiping off his knives

"Oh thank Merlin Albus, you're here" she said as the rest of the Professors arrived

"Mr Potter, what happened?" Albus Dumbledore asked. He was wearing his favourite orange coloured robes once more

"Headmaster as I explained to Deputy Headmistress the troll was coming for us and I needed to protect Daphne and myself so I took action" he said stowing his last knife

"What is that?" Dumbledore caught sight of the knife

"My knives sir" Harry said pulling his sleeve up so that Dumbledore could see

"I'm going to have to ask you to hand those over" Dumbledore said "We can't have you injuring or killing another student"

"Headmaster, Mr Potter has shown nothing but sound judgement even when he has been antagonised. This is the first time I've seen any hint of violence from him and with just cause, I see no reason for taking personal belongings from him" Severus said stepping between the Headmaster and Harry

"Severus I cannot allow a student to brandish weapons in the middle of the school" Dumbledore said eyes twinkling

"You allow it every day Headmaster, every student carries a wand with them which can be used to commit any number of atrocities. My knives have remained firmly in their harness for the entire two months I have been here at Hogwarts, the only exception being tonight. Even when I train I do not use my knives" Harry explained "There are also no rules against them as they are not cursed" he said

"Nevertheless I insist" the Headmaster pressed

"Headmaster…" Severus started

"It's okay Potions Master" Harry said undoing the harness and slipped it off his arm "Here you go Headmaster" he said handing it to the Headmaster

"Thank you Mr Potter, now off you go" he dismissed everyone

Harry went over to where Daphne remained seated

"Hey, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey" he smiled at her

"You k..k..killed it" she stammered out

"I had to protect you Ms Greengrass" he said still smiling "Who would make horrible Nott puns" he asked slipping his arm around her waist

"Thank you Harry" she smiled back at him

They walked in silence to the infirmary followed by Severus; he walked watching the student who he had come to like more than he expected. The boy was brave but not foolish like his father; he was loyal and intelligent like his mother. But there was something else, a ruthlessness that Severus had known all too well. Finding it in this boy was unexpected but not unwelcome

"Oh dear, Mr Potter is Ms Greengrass okay? Severus what happened?" she asked catching sight of the black clad Potions Master

"Ms Greengrass is just suffering some shock Madam, I think a calming draught and a dreamless sleep potion will suffice. Mr Potter fought a troll so maybe he needs a check-up too" he said watching both teens ushered into a seat

Madam Pomfrey gave Daphne the recommended potions after doing a few scans on her; she turned to Harry and shook her head

"You're just like James and Sirius" she said and ran a few scans on Harry "Nothing to be concerned about, here's a dreamless sleep for you too and some balm for your face. It will help for swelling and bruising" she said

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey" he threw the older witch a smile

"Now back to your common rooms" the witch said

The walk to the common rooms went much quicker than the one to the infirmary, thanks to the stairs playing along. Harry and Daphne said good night to Severus who turned and walked to his office, Harry opened the common room door and was face with the back of the crowd

"If it was me I would have used my wand" Malfoy said proudly

"And done what exactly?" Harry asked loudly

"Taken it down like a true Pureblood" he sneered

"Yes but how?" Harry pressed "What spells? From close range or further away?"

"Restraints for a start" Malfoy said thinking hard "And then a cutting curse"

"Would you show us the spells? I'm sure we'd all love to see the restraints" Harry said

"I don't have to prove myself to you Potter" he sneered

"You see Malfoy, I don't need to brag about what I would've done or could've done. You know why? Because when the need arose I acted, I wasn't cowering between two goons and I'm aware that actions have consequences but I did what was necessary" he said giving Malfoy a dressing down "Daphne is here because of those actions, my actions. Next time step up or shut up" he said causing Draco to pale and leave with Crabbe and Goyle

"Bloody hell Harry" Flint said "A troll in your first year? What's next year's trick?" he grinned

"I think I have had enough for the entire seven years" Daphne huffed

"Come on Daph you had the best seat" Theo nudged her

"And you did not" she smiled causing everyone to groan

"I'm going to bed now" Harry said leaving the room behind

Severus Snape thundered through the halls until he arrived at the ghastly gargoyle

"Sugar quills" he growled out

"Come in Severus" he heard the old man call out, when he entered he found the other three heads of house sitting in the office

"We were discussing Mr Potter's actions" he said over his half-moon spectacles with the knives laying on the desk "He didn't have to be a hero"

"Headmaster he saved a student and probably the entire house. He acted bravely and stayed loyal to his friend, he used his smarts knowing that he didn't possess the skill to take a troll down magically so he used the skills he did have" Severus explained which caused all three heads of house to look at their hands

"And it's those skills that worry me Severus, the boy has been living with an assassin for the past three years" Dumbledore said

"Why? He hasn't used them before tonight. He came to me in the first week and explained that he trained every day and enquired about a classroom he could use, I watched him the first time and I deemed it no more dangerous than the things we teach them. He was right Albus, we let children walk around with wands which could easily cast the unforgivable curses and yet you remonstrate him about six knives" Severus defended "The fact that our roles are not reversed in this matter should be enough to convince you that I am right Albus. Had he been in Gryffindor you would have sung his praises but because Harry is an evil snake and reminds you too much of _him_ you're punishing Harry" he said effectively putting the other three in the dark

"I cannot allow another student down that path Severus" he said sadly

"Then don't force him to act in the shadows, if you're right about this guardian then he already feels comfortable there. Do you really want to push him further into the dark?" Severus asked

"I will take your words to heart and think on them Severus" he answered. All four heads of house made for the exit as they knew a dismissal when they heard it. Severus closed the door behind the other three

"One more thing Albus, Quirrell"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites. So my story was added into a community, super happy I won't lie. Thank you!**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 10 – Discussions**

The following morning the entire hall spent chatting about the troll; only the Slytherin students discussed Harry being the one to kill the beast. The Headmaster stood at his podium watching the students go about their meals; he watched Harry smile with his friends, maybe Severus had been correct about the boy. His smile look much more genuine than that which Tom had sported all those years ago.

"Attention" he called "Last night a troll found its way into the castle, Professor Quirrell has been dismissed as he couldn't handle the situation and frankly this establishment needs more in a defence teacher. I have sent a few missives to old colleagues to try and recruit a new Professor, until then Professors Flitwick and Snape have agreed to cover the classes as best as they can"

There was some cheering about the news

"Now back to the troll, it was handled by Harry James Potter who managed to subdue the creature"

"Killed it Headmaster" a Slytherin shouted

"Yes Mr King, killed. Mr Potter I apologise for taking these" he said showing Harry the harness "And I would like to award you one hundred and fifty points and the Special Award for Services to the School for stepping in and defending lady Hogwarts" he said holding up a plaque and a medal

"Please come forward" Dumbledore smiled and gave Harry a handshake "Your parents would be proud" he said giving him the medal and his knives

"Thank you Headmaster" He said slipping the harness onto his arm

The Slytherin table was going crazy with applause and the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables joined in. The Gryffindor table remained quite through the entire scene

"Well done Harry, you're going to win the house cup on your own" Theo grumbled once Harry took his seat

"You keep losing us points Theo someone has to win them back" Blaise teased

"So why do you carry knives?" Blaise asked

"Yeah I wanted to ask yesterday" Pansy asked

"My guardian is a bodyguard and he trained me to take care of myself, knives are my favourite weapon. So when we went to Diagon Alley I picked up a set of silver knives which had an everlasting spell on the blade which means they'll never dull" he explained

"Can I see them?" Daphne asked

"Another time? I know the Headmaster isn't exactly happy that I have them but I think our Head of House made a good case on my behalf" he said to her which caused her to pout

"Okay" she answered

For Harry Hogwarts was a home away from home; he missed John but in his place he had found Severus. He often found himself in the older man's study discussing various magical concepts; Severus told Harry that he had an important truth he needed to tell him that would alter their relationship and Harry need only ask him and he would tell him the truth. Harry had chosen to leave that truth untold for now; Severus had provided him with an education beyond the syllabus.

Harry was no slouch as Severus had learned for himself when he came across the note book of potion brewing methods Harry had put together for himself. That class had been interesting as students from both houses envied Harry in his casual demonstration of his knowledge, this had rubbed off on a few of his friends who had improved their grades to a point where they could keep up with him but only one witch could match his knowledge. Severus' least favourite student, Ms Hermione Granger; the girl was truly an insufferable know it all and she was fast losing favour with her peers for the way she acted, most notably with the youngest Weasley who was among the three students who Severus wanted expelled.

As far as power was concerned a surprise awaited Severus and every other Professor on the grounds. Neville Longbottom managed to keep up with Harry, for ever ten spells Harry mastered Neville mastered eight. The friendship had only grown stronger as they approached Christmas and a rare smile was brought to the face of one Severus Snape when he saw the group that had gathered in Harry's training room.

Harry stood at the centre as he always did; it was if the group encircled him and not that he chose to stand in the middle of the group. Neville made up one third of the Hufflepuff's, the others were Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, Hermione brought one Ravenclaw along in the form of Padma Patil. Two Gryffindor's in the form of Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown and then there were his snakes; Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson

"I wasn't aware you entertained in here Mr Potter" he said smile now missing from his face

"I was just showing them where I disappear to for hours on end sir" he threw Severus that casual smile

"I have no quarrel, I need to see you for a few minutes tonight at 7" he said deciding that talking to him about his friend would be served best when he was away from them.

"I will swing by sir" he smiled

"Good, if you need a bigger room be sure to let me know" he said and swept from the room

"How the hell are you so popular with Professor Snape!?" Blaise shouted "He terrifies most students, all of us actually except you"

"He is fair and just Blaise, you just need to give him your best effort" Harry shrugged

"Okay enough about Professors, so is this where you and Neville have been disappearing to?" Parvati asked

"Yeah, it's not much, just a few training mats and some weights. I saw a few training dummies in a catalogue that I may get us once we start on some serious magic" Harry grinned

"And Harry has been teaching me some hand to hand combat as well" Neville admitted

"That's why you don't spill anymore" Hermione shouted

"Calm down Mione, but yeah" Neville smiled

"So what is everyone doing for the Christmas holidays?" Daphne asked looking at Harry mostly

"Theo has invited Harry and I over for the entire holidays so that's where I'll be" Blaise said

"Gran is taking me to Egypt for a few weeks but other than that I'll probably just be in the greenhouses back at home" Neville answered

"Hannah is going to have me over for the summer holidays and we've asked Hermione and Lavender to visit as well." Susan smiled at her best friend, it was lonely being home when her aunt was away on business most of the time.

"Yeah, mom said that it would be good to have some muggleborns as friends so that we can see both sides of the world, magical and muggle" Hannah said

"I have to go to a ball at Malfoy Manor for Christmas Eve but I'll be over at the Greengrass home most of the time with Daphne and Astoria" Pansy said

"Who is Astoria?" Hermione asked

"She's the devil" Daphne said

"What Daphne means is that it's her little sister. She'll start Hogwarts next year and then you'll be confused because they look so alike" Pansy said

"What will you be doing?" Harry asked the twins

"The usual, go to India to visit our relatives and have them lecture us on being proper Indian witches" Padma said with an annoyed look "What about you Harry?"

"Hopefully I'll be travelling with my guardian for most of it, I'll be at Theo's for the last two weeks though" he said to Padma

After that the conversation petered out and they found themselves in the great hall for another over catered meal. Harry went up to Severus' office five minutes before he was supposed to meet with the man. Harry knocked on the door and heard a familiar voice say 'come in' but the voice did not belong to Severus. He opened the door and found Death sitting in Severus' chair.

"Hello Harry" he said pleasantly

"Hi" he said taking a seat

"You know Harry I find myself extremely curious more and more each day as I watch your progress. I know I chose the correct servant, I have no doubt that the task will be completed. You see there has been a reason for every kill, not that you have ever asked" Death sounded disappointed "I wouldn't have considered it a foolish or naïve question"

"I didn't need the reasons, my reason was good enough" he said simply

"Oh? And what was that?" he asked intrigued once more

"I wanted a good life, a life I deserved" he said seriously

"Very well, I will tell you the reasons nonetheless" Death continued "And don't worry about time, we're suspended in a timeless realm between our two realms" he said when the boy checked his watch

"I'm listening then" he said sitting and listening intently

"Joseph was colluding with the government who was in power and feeding them information about the resistance. His death will lead to an unimpeded victory for the resistance, in the long run it will open the South African border for more business which is a key area for access into the rest of Africa. This death helped me satisfy another contract I had made" Death said waiting for the boy to ask questions but none came so Death continued

"Mathieu was a good man, he was going to curb corruption that had manifested in his department. For my assassins to do their work effectively I needed him out of the way. Jeffrey Sloan was in a precious position and his 'intern' wanted to make the step up to the role, he is not going to do it effectively though and the country that the CIA wants to take control of will grow stronger than before. It will lead to the death of this 'intern' and will spark a growing divide between the intelligence agencies in the USA" Death explained

"I never thought my actions would go on to make such huge shifts" he said impressed with Death's planning

"You haven't heard it all yet, Ruby Rivera was busy working on an electric motor. It would have put diesel and petrol engines out of business. Now that technology had been delayed almost thirty to forty years. Diane, who was with child, was the intended wife of a drug cartel leader that he was hiding in that little town, her death caused him to commit suicide and let an easily manipulated man take his place. David was going to run for prime minister in a few years and I have already promised that to another with less morals" Death said

"What will Dumbledore's death serve?" Harry asked

"Patience, we're almost there" Death said amused that he now had Harry's curiosity

"Benjamin Lopez works in a nuclear plant and was introducing safe guards against tropical storms making the area safer, I couldn't have Fate win that. So I had you kill her pawn"

"Christina and Edward were soul mates. I know it sounds cliché but the power of them meeting would cause a shift between the Powers, Love and Hate. Hate is currently winning and since He and I have an understanding I offered to help him"

"And Dumbledore" he asked

"Mr Dumbledore is a key political figure in the wizarding world. More accurately he is a master chess player who prefers playing the game with people instead of pieces. With him out of the equation a new master will be able to lead the magical community of Britain" Death explained

"And who would that be?" Harry asked

"They would look to you or they will fall into chaos. Either way I win" he said

"Fair enough, does the deadline still stand?" Harry asked wondering why Death was here

"Yes it does, Fate will ensure that it doesn't happen sooner" he explained

"Then why are you here?" he voice his concern

"I wanted to see why John wanted to stay around and tell you good job on the troll" Death said

"Thank you, I have another question" Harry stated

"You need only ask" he offered

"How do I get hold of you to make a new deal?"

"Your wand can reach me, hold it and call for me. I will find you at my convenience" he said "Now I'll leave you to your Potions Master" he said and vanished. The door to the office swung open and revealed Severus looking serious as usual

"Ah Mr Potter" he said taking his seat

"You wanted to see me sir" he asked distracted by the discussion with Death

"I did, I would like your help Mr Potter. More accurately I'd like you to help one of your friends as she is antagonising a student unknowingly" he said

"Hermione" Harry said "I know sir I do, Neville and I have discussed it and we're trying our best. She's just overzealous" he explained

"It's more than that, I saw it with your mother in the early years. She was fascinated by magic and she couldn't grasp why the other students weren't. I suppose it's why she found peace with your father as he embraced magic, all others be damned" the older man said with hatred in his voice at the end

"Did you go to school with them?" he asked

"I did, I lived close to your mother and we were friends when we were younger" he said now sounding sad

"Is that why you're so nice to me?" he asked "Everyone notices how different you are with me compared to everyone else" he said

"It does colour my vision yes, but so does the animosity that manifested between your father and myself. What won me over was your preparedness for every class, the quality of your homework and the astounding amount of knowledge you possess, like the Potions Master title or the little book of potions. Had you acted like Mr Weasley does I might have treated you like your father and you would have responded in kind, we would have hated each other. But that fortunately is not the case, but I digress. You need to try harder with Ms Granger lest she get bullied when you aren't around" he said

"I will try sir" he said smiling

"That is all" Severus said returning to marking essays. Harry stood and made for the door

"And Harry, keep up the good work" he said genuinely

"Always"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 11 – Favours**

The trip to King's Cross went much quicker than the one to Hogwarts for Harry; their compartment was fuller than it was earlier as well. Harry was sat on the floor in front of Daphne who was debating with Hermione about something Harry had lost interest in as soon as the topic began; instead he focused on the game of cards he was playing with Neville. The slowing of the train stopped all activities and an excitement settled in the cabin

They'd be seeing their families for the first time since September; for the firsties it was the longest that they'd been away from their families and they were usually the first ones off the train.

Harry was introduced to all his friends' parents in such rapid succession but left Theo's parents for last since they had invited him over for the holidays and he wanted to thank them for their hospitality.

"Mother, Father this is Harry Potter" he said and then saw the confused look on Harry's face "My parents already know Blaise" he said to Harry quickly

"Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Nott" Harry said striking out his hand for them to shake

"Nice to meet you too Mr Potter, I hear you'll only be joining us for the last two weeks of your holidays" Mrs Nott said

"Yes ma'am. My guardian and I will be doing some travelling first" he smiled "Theo has given me your floo address though"

"Just be sure to write to us regarding the time you'll be arriving. The floo is secured and we'll need to ensure someone can let you through from the other side" she explained

"I will Mrs Nott" he smiled

"Now I think you should be off, your guardian must be worried" Mr Nott said in a deep voice

"I'm sure he is" Harry smiled and left the group and walked through the barrier and saw Hermione with a large man and a woman who looked like an older version of his friend, though the older woman's hair was more tamed. He smiled at her when she waved him over

"Mom, dad this is Harry" she smiled "Harry these are my parents"

"Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Granger" he smiled and shook her father's hand

"You too Harry, we're in a rush since we still need to get back to work. You should come visit sometime" her mother said

"Definitely, Jane and I would really like to hear more about Hogwarts and meet a few of Hermione's friends" her father added

"I will, I need to find my guardian as well" he said and saw the family leave; catching her mother commenting on the length of his hair.

He continued scanning the area for John; the man was always dressed in a suit when they were in public and his hair was always cut neatly never longer than a few centimetres. That's what Harry was looking for; he was surprised when he saw John looking at him from next to the newspaper stand. Harry took the sight of his mentor in, his hair was longer; almost down to his shoulder. He was dressed in a formal pants and a polo neck; Harry could see the imprint of the knife holster on his left forearm as he got closer.

"John" he said smiling

"Harry, glad to see you're safe" he said "And you've grown too, I think we need to go shopping before you head off for the last two weeks" he said assessing the boy

"We probably should, maybe even get you a haircut" Harry joked

"Yours is almost down to your ass, I think you're the last person to comment" he shook his head and took hold of the trunk

"Where are we going? You look too serious" Harry said

"A rescue and an assassination job has come up, it's going to take three of us and Marcus has already agreed to join in. Are you up for it kid?" he asked loading the trunk into the car

"Yes" Harry said without hesitation

"Are you sure about it? It's not one of your ten" John asked

"I'm sure, think of it as a thanks for everything you done for me" Harry said "When is this taking place?"

"Tomorrow, I was hoping you'd say yes so that I wouldn't have to find someone else"

"You only need to ask John, I owe you more than I can say. I don't know what would have become of me should you and Death have stayed out of my life" Harry said honestly

"Thanks Kid, you've helped me too. Some of the supplies I now have access to are unbelievable and will definitely give me the edge. Not that I need it" he laughed

"Now who is the target and who are we rescuing?" Harry asked "And what weapons are we going to use?"

"Slow down, first we stop for clothing and supplies. I managed to get you more knives and two daggers"

"What's the difference?" Harry said assuming they were the same thing

"Well they're more or less the same and most sales people will not know the difference. While both have a sharp point a dagger typically has two sharp ends while a knife has only one. It's all semantics, most people just call them all knives except for stuck up tools" John explained

"So why mention it?" Harry turned to the older man

"Because the daggers are poisoned"

"Ah, so who are we saving?" Harry asked

"A girl called Claire Douglas, her father owns a transport _business_ and he suspects his competition has taken his daughter. Marcus has managed to find where she is being kept, but she has been moved everyday over the last three weeks. Marcus knows where she is being moved from and to" John explained

"So a mob daughter?" Harry asked

"Yes, have a problem with that?" John asked

"No I don't, stop being so jumpy" Harry laughed

"I need you to be serious and I was worried you were only in for the ten death gave you" John explained

"I've already killed a troll outside the ten John. I'll be serious when the time demands, for now I'm enjoying watching this new John. What changed while I was at Hogwarts?" Harry asked

"Death visited me and so did Fate" John explained

"Death and Fate? Together?" Harry asked shocked

"No not together. Death came to me shortly after his visit to you, he offered me a few a new deal. Fate arrived a few hours after that, she told me that if I interfered anymore that she would strike when I least expected it" He said

"What was the deal?" Harry asked

"It doesn't matter, I didn't take it and I won't take another deal from any Power" John said pulling the car into the lot "No more talk about it, let's go get clothes and supplies" he said effectively ending the conversation

Getting supplies was a quick and efficient trip just like Harry and John liked it; Harry just needed to get new robes but he told John he'd do it in the two weeks with the Nott family. They left the building and started driving towards the airport

"The airport?" Harry asked

"Yes, the job is in Russia. So we've chartered a plane so that we can do planning on our way there." He said

Harry remained quiet for the rest of the trip, he was sure John was waiting till they were with Marcus before they discussed anything else. The drive went by quickly and soon they were sitting on a plane with Marcus

"So are we set?" John asked

"Yeah, I'll be on a rooftop providing cover as you enter and exit the building. Unfortunately the building has bulletproof glass so while you're inside I'll only be able to act as a distraction until you get out" he said laying a map of the building down

"Could we try infiltrating? Rough me up a bit and act like I'm a street kid" Harry offered

"I don't think it'll work but it could get us in if you could take out the gate guard with that routine" Marcus said "Quickly"

"Then you and I go in, we cross the lawn in a dead sprint" John said to Harry

"Understood, now can I see this girl we're saving?" Harry asked

"Dating prospects that bad at Hogwarts?" John joked

"That's not… you know it's not what I meant" Harry blushed

"Here" Marcus said laughing "For your scrap book"

"Ugh I hate you old men" he said taking the picture "Is the picture recent?"

"Taken three days before she was taken" Marcus confirmed

Harry walked down to the plane's exit and back up three times before he spoke again

"What weapons will you take along?" he asked John

"Well Marcus will be using his new rifle that he won't shut up about and you and I will go with whatever we feel comfortable with. I'll be going with these handguns and two knives" he said opening the case on the table

"I'll go with my new knives then" Harry said putting his holsters on the table

"Daggers" Marcus said pointing to one set

"See stuck up tools" John said to Harry

"There's an important distinction…" Marcus began

"Not tonight, we have some more preparation that we need to do" John said and opened a folder with photos in it

"There are fifteen or so guards, they don't usually patrol any of the grounds. They stay in the building and search it routinely, preferring to stick to the hall ways, this means that we're going to have quite a battle to get to Ms Douglas" John said

"And she's held in the deepest part of the building, which in this case means the basement" Marcus said pointed to the bottom of the plans

"Then we should get some rest because once we land we will be making our way to that building. We'll be hitting them hard and we'll be doing it as quickly as possible" John said

After that all three men went their different ways and fell asleep in their different positions. The plane landed several hours later and soon they were loaded into a car and barrelling to the building with one stop to drop Marcus off close to the building he would shoot from.

John pull to the side of the road while Harry threw some homeless kids clothes over his tactical outfit.

"Move quickly and do not waste time, remember what I told you about your first kill" John said and opened the door and watched Harry walk across the road and make his way around the corner.

Harry slowed his walk as he approached the guard at the gate

"Some money for the poor" Harry asked in Russian

"Move boy" he shouted at Harry

"Sorry" Harry said and stabbed the man in the throat, it was uncomfortable stabbing that high from the angle he was standing at. He pushed the guard against the gate and robbed him of his handgun just in case.

John rounded the corner at a brisk pace and both of them sprinted across the grass until they reached the doors. John looked at Harry and held up three fingers and then removed two guns from their holsters and kicked in the door and fired off two shots which took down the two guards. Harry slipped into a door way and waited for the footsteps to get closer and then struck his opponent in the knee and then the head

John kicked open the door to his left and found the room empty and then moved to the next one; Harry slipped into the room and waited for John movement to draw opponents into the room.

"Marcus" John said into his earpiece "We need that distraction, they're closing ranks. We've been here almost two minutes and we've only taken down four men"

Moments later three explosions went off outside and then the lights went out; the sound of footsteps rang through the halls

"Now we start" John said and stepped into the hall

Harry stepped in front of John and threw two knives from behind John and caught one of the guards in neck and another in the eye. Harry stepped into a door way and watched John fire off multiple shots and heard bodies fall and then the older man stepped into a doorway of his own. Harry took lead and attacked another guard; Harry kicked the man's knee and watched him buckle as it broke. He snapped the man's neck and threw a knife at a guard who stepped into the hall and caught the giant of a man in the chest but was not slowed down

The guard came closer and kicked Harry in the chest and drew the biggest knife Harry had ever seen. Harry drew his poisoned daggers and grinned; this was going to be fun. The guard swung down hard which was quicker than Harry expected and was forced to roll back before he could attack, the man surprised him once more by throwing the knife with such force that the blade lodged itself in the brick wall behind Harry and then he smiled at Harry and pulled another knife.

"Fuck" Harry muttered and approached the massive man with the same determination he did the troll

He threw one of his daggers and grazed the man's leg but then the giant thrust his knife forward which caught Harry in his left shoulder. Harry winced but fought through the pain and stabbed the man in the gut and received a punch to his face in return

The man approached him once more and Harry drew the handgun he had stolen earlier and fired off three shots two which found their target.

"It was a knife fight" the man said before Harry unloaded the rest of the rounds into the man's skull

"You assumed it was, not my fault" he said and searched for John. He found John picking the lock to a door

"There'll be more behind the door. What happened to your arm?" John asked alarmed

"Got stabbed, hold on I want to try something" he said pulling his wand and cast a healing spell on himself which closed the wound

"Alohamora" he said and pointed at the lock which clicked open

"You could have done that sooner" John said shaking his head "Do you know combat spells?" he asked

"No, not yet. Those were both beginner spells but I have these" he said pulling two handguns

"Since when?" John asked

"No time" Harry said hearing sirens in the distance "Let's go" he said and threw the door open. Immediately a shotgun went off

"Cover me" Harry said and got on his knees and moved into the doorway and saw their attacker; unfortunately for the guard he was aiming as if a grown man was going to step into the room and not a child on his knees so he hesitated which was all Harry needed who fired without thinking twice and took down the man.

Harry followed John down the stairs at the far end of the passage and started searching the basement

He heard crying and made his way further into the room and found the girl tied to a bed

"Don't worry, we're here to help you" he said in English "Do you understand?" and the girl nodded

"John I've found her" Harry shouted

"Let's go then" the older man said and picked up the girl as if she was nothing and slung her over his shoulder

Harry removed one of John's guns from its holster and took lead; as they crossed the lawn a police car swung into the drive way and a pair of officers got out of the car and shouted in Russian for them to drop the girl

Before Harry could say anything he heard Marcus fire off his guns and take out both officers

"Oh shit, what a shot" Harry said eyes wide

"He has been working on that" John said and started for their car again. Harry got into the backseat with Claire

After picking up Marcus, they made their way back to the airport as Marcus arranged flight plans to New York.

"So we hand off Claire and then what?" Harry asked

"A vacation" John said "We deserve it"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 12 – Vacations and more discussions**

Harry sat in the sun enjoying the time off; John had arranged a week's stay on a private island in the Caribbean. It had been an amazing way to relax and recover from the job, John had gotten hit twice while they rescued Claire; fortunately it had been on the bulletproof vest so he only had a few bruises.

"So catch me up on the last three months?" John asked "Last I heard you killed a troll and told me that the knives were a fantastic idea. Then all of a sudden radio silence"

"Well I've found out that I'm magically stronger than most of my peers and probably some of those older than me too. I remembered what Gregory had said about getting the ground work right so I've been training with Neville Longbottom who is just as powerful as me"

"And how is that going?" John asked

"Well. We've been perfecting certain things like eliminating wand motions and certain incantations, we've gotten a few books and it seems that most magic relies on intent. Rituals and wards are a few of branches of magic where the specific wand motions and incantations matter" Harry explained

"So you're trying to get to a point where you just point your wand and things happen?" John asked

"Maybe not even a wand" Harry mentioned smugly

"What? Is that not the point of wands? I remember reading that book of yours that said it was how wizards directed their magic"

"For most wizards, Neville's wand hampered his magic so much that he was unable to perform basic spells even though his incantation and wand movements were perfect. He poured so much magic into it that when he first tried spells with his new wand he nearly levitated a chair through the ceiling" Harry said " So that's more or less what we have been busy with"

"And how's the friendship circle?" John asked taking a drink of his whiskey

"Ever expanding, sometimes it's not exactly my choice. Hermione brought the two Ravenclaw's, one of who has a twin sister in my least favourite house"

"Gryffindor" John said

"Yeah, Home of the brave" Harry said irritated "They're like the USA of Hogwarts" he said brightening slightly

"I will down your British arse" John said in a mock accent

"Yeah yeah, but that house is going to be a problem for me if something doesn't happen to dissuade them" he said

"How is the Quidditch?" he asked

"The first match was Gryffindor against Hufflepuff and then Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw, we haven't played yet and Hufflepuff has lost all their games. They're not the best players; the only thing they have is a good seeker and he is going to lose to me. I'm quicker on the same broom but I don't have the same broom, I have the fastest broom available." Harry said

"Do you think the trophy will come down to the Slytherin-Gryffindor game?" John asked

"Yes, Ravenclaw has better tactics but Gryffindor have superior flyers and two excellent beaters, so Gryffindor will win two and we'll definitely win two. Our disadvantage is that we play three games in a row"

"Who arranges the games?" John asked curiously

"The one person at Hogwarts that will regret my magical education" Harry said

"He doesn't want you in Slytherin, if you speak to that Mr Snape you'll learn that. He wants you to be his golden hero, you're the hero who is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He wants you to be a good boy but that is and will never be who you are."

"Cunning and ambition, I'll keep him in the know about my wonderful achievements but the darker ones will remain in the dark" Harry said

"Maybe play the part a bit more convincingly?" John asked

"There's nothing more I can do John, except walk around unarmed and there's no way I'm doing that" Harry said sitting forward

"Okay fair enough Harry. I'm going to the main land for some food and supplies, do you want to come along with me?" John asked throwing on his shirt

"No I'm not, I have a few letters to read and respond to" Harry said and threw on his own hat

He stepped into his room and looked at the letters on his desk; no doubt three of them were from Hermione with her overly neat handwriting. Harry decided on a shower before checking his mail

When he saw his reflection in the mirror he knew it was time to cut his hair; he removed a pair of scissors from his desk and started cutting. He reached shoulder length and then continued cutting until it looked like a young Elvis hairstyle; he looked at the hair laying all around himself. His friends would definitely be shocked when they saw him next and so would John

His shower was pleasant and quick, he never took longer than he needed and with his hair so short it went much quicker. He sat down at his desk and sorted his mail; four from Hermione, three from Lavender, one from Padma and two from Daphne.

He started with Lavender's letters which were all senseless nonsense and then onto Hermione's _Harry,_

 _I hope you're enjoying your break._

 _I've been thinking about our discussion about my behaviour relating to my actions in class. I've come to the same conclusions that you have that one day someone like Malfoy or Ronald will attack me, verbally or physically._

 _I'd like to thank you for the warning and I'd like to thank Professor Snape but I think the best thanks to him would be changed behaviour._

 _See you on the express_

 _Love,_

 _Hermione._

The rest of the letters all revolved around assignments which caused Harry to smile at his friend's letter, she was such an amazing person with so much talent. Her changed behaviour would make her better as she would be less abrasive. Harry had braced for a difficult discussion but instead she accepted his advice and thought about it before she responded. He owed his potions master something nice for helping out his friend

He opened Daphne's letters which were more like notes since she only wanted to know when he would be at the Nott's and if he could have her and her sister over sometime. Harry penned her a note on the back of hers and sent it off

"What the hell happened here?" John asked stepping into his room

"Decided it was time to let the hair go" Harry said running his hand through the short hair

"I'm glad you did, it was getting to a point where I was planning on calling you Sue" John joked

"I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts" Harry laughed

"Whatever, I got some fresh lobsters. Dinner in an hour" he said and left the room. Harry opened his letter from Padma

 _Hi Harry,_

 _I know we don't speak much and we aren't actually that close as compared to you and everyone else in your group. I wanted to write to you to ask you a favour regarding training, I know that you and Neville train but I'd like to have you include me in this._

 _A lot of people in my house are serious about learning spells but no of them are making the next step like you and Neville. I've seen how adept Neville has become and it's not just the new wand._

 _Please consider this, I know you like your privacy and you don't need another person complicating things or the entire group joining the training._

 _I'll wait until we get back for your response_

 _See you Harry_

 _Your acquaintance,_

 _Padma_

Harry stared at the letter until John called him for dinner. He spent the rest of the week thinking about having the rest of the group joining his training; that's what Padma's request would ultimately result in.

When he arrived at the Nott residence he still had not figured out his plan. He arrived on a crisp morning which irritated him; he had spent a week enjoying the sun and tanning but now he had to deal with the weather of Britain in the middle of winter.

"Why does it need to be cold" he grumbled as he walked through the fireplace

"Welcome Mr Potter" Theo's father said from his seat

"Good morning Mr Nott, how are you?" Harry smiled

"I'm good Mr Potter I'd like a word with you before you head through those doors" he said indicating to the two wooden doors across the room

"What's the issue Mr Nott" Harry asked sitting down across from the older man

"I'd like to tell you a story and I'd like to think you'd listen to all of it before you storm out of here" the older Nott said

"I'll return your hospitality with patience and respect" Harry promised

"When I was at Hogwarts I was a good student, I was not the best but I was good like Theodore. I was not a good person however and very quickly I fell in with an evil group and years later I would end up with this" he said showing Harry his left forearm

"It's the mark of Voldemort. I didn't believe in his pureblood agenda I knew it was shit, most half-bloods or muggleborn's have so much more magically powerful. I wanted power and he gave me power, along with Malfoy I managed to move my family from poor but magically talented to rich, powerful and magically talented. However, I made a mistake Mr Potter, I stood by the wrong man. I chose wrong not that there was ever much of a choice for me" he said

"And then he killed my parents and disappeared" Harry stated temper still in check. He wondered how many people supported the man who was responsible for the loss of his parents

"There is a choice now though" Mr Nott said

"Please tell me you're not talking about Malfoy" Harry said

"As weak as that boy is, he is dangerous and he has his father's ruthless nature and his father's resources. As far as I understand from talking to Theo you have already had a run in with him and as things go along there will be many more. I want you to leave Theo out of it or I want you to lead him competently, not like the pansy leader Dumbledore is" Mr Nott said

"What do you see in me that makes have this conversation with me?" Harry asked

"I see a young Tom Riddle, that was Voldemort's real name, and he was a brilliant wizard who would have revolutionised this world. He got side-tracked by his hate and he was worse for it. I think you're different, I think you're better, I think you're stronger and I think you can change the world"

"And I think you've been thinking about this for a long time"

"Ever since you arrived at Hogwarts and Theo's first letter" Theo's father said

"Then I shall have to train them and make sure that you're impressed by the man he becomes" Harry said

"Now about your guardian, there are rumours floating around and I'd like some clarification"

"Well some call him Baba Yaga…"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 13 – Return to Hogwarts**

"So you want us all to train with you and Neville?" Blaise asked

"Yes, I think it would be for the best." Harry said to the group

"What if we wouldn't like to?" Lavender asked

"Look people like Malfoy and Ronald Weasley aren't going to sit back and wait for us to get better, they're going to goad us and attack us. Look at the last three months, how many times has Ron or Malfoy and his two bodyguards goaded us? Or tried to hurt us? Or embarrass us?"

"A few" Hermione admitted

"So how much longer does it continue?" Neville asked the group

"According to you and Harry not much longer" Theo said "And whatever happens I'm in"

"Me too" Hermione said

"And me" Padma said

"I can't do this. You guys are being ridiculous, were kids and you're talking about what exactly? Hurting other students" Parvati said looking at her sister

"No we're talking about being their betters" Padma said

"I agree with Parvati, I'm not part of this" Lavender said and then they left the compartment

"They're weak" Theo said

"One of them is still my twin sister" Padma said "We shouldn't just abandon them"

"We won't, we'll keep an eye on them" Harry said

"Enough about training and onto more important matters" Susan said "What happened to your hair?" she asked

"I just decided to cut it, we were on holiday on an island and I was tired of the long hair. So I grabbed a pair of scissors and got to work" he explained

"I miss the long hair" she said and ran her hand through the top

"It'll grow again" he smiled. The rest of the trip went by with nothing of interest being discussed. Arriving back at Hogwarts felt like arriving home for Harry; the smells and sights were all comforting

He smiled at his potions master and noted there was still not a new Professor at the table which meant there was still no one taking up the defence post. All the other faces at the staff table looked rested and refreshed, ready for the next six months. Harry sat between Theo and Daphne who were pressing Pansy for details about the Malfoy visit

"My father enjoyed the visit, he is looking forward to a continued alliance" she said pulling her face

"I'm sorry Pans, is there no way to get out of the contract?" Daphne asked

"Not unless a better House comes along" she said defeated "I'd rather marry that Gryffindor" she said pointing to Ron who was stuffing his face. The red head looked up and saw the Slytherin's looking at him laughing

"Oh no, he has seen us" Blaise said "Now I'm going to be confronted about how I'm a dirty snake"

"Here he comes" Harry said giving himself room to react if the redhead tried anything. He arrived with two other Gryffindor's who were in their year

"What are you snakes laughing at?" he asked temper already flaring

"Just Pansy's predicament, she can't decide what disgusts her more" Blaise said standing "Your grades or your table manners"

"Well it's none of her business" Ron said hand on his wand

"Ah but both make you seem like such a waste of magic" Blaise said adjusting the boys tie

"Get your filthy hands off me" he shouted and push Blaise backward and pulled his wand but Harry was quicker and twisted on the bench so that he was facing Ron

"Don't think about it Weasley" Harry said menacingly with his black wand

"Why are you taking their side Harry, we could be best friends" he whined

"We could braid each other's hair" Pansy said mockingly

"You bitch" Ron said and took a step forward and then crumpled to the ground holding his knee "You broke my leg"

"I probably only dislocated your knee cap, fortunately you brought two brave Gryffindor's to carry you to the hospital wing" Harry said flippantly

"What's going on here" Professor McGonagall demanded

"Mr Weasley tripped deputy headmistress, I think he might have dislocated his knee" Harry said innocently

"I don't believe he is that clumsy Mr Potter, care to share the true events" she demanded

"Potter broke his leg Professor" the black Gryffindor said

"Did you see this Mr Thomas?" she asked

"Well no, but who else could it be? He killed a troll Professor" the boy said exasperatedly

"Mr Weasley can you tell me what happened?" she asked. By now the entire hall was looking at the gathering

"I stepped forward and then something hit my leg which caused me to fall forward. I didn't see what it was" he said honestly

"Detention with me tonight Mr Potter" she decided

"For what reason Minerva?" Severus asked stepping onto the scene and kicked Ron as he stepped by

"He injured Mr Weasley" she said

"No one saw him do it" Blaise pointed out

"Do you expect me to believe that my student came over here and slipped? For Merlin's sake I've seen this many times over" she said getting visibly angry

"Minerva, if no one saw Mr Potter do it then maybe you should just get Mr Weasley to the infirmary. After all as the muggles say innocent until proven guilty" Severus said smoothly

"Severus you can't be serious" she shouted

"Deadly serious Minerva, you can't punish my students just because you think they done something wrong" he said

"I'll be taking this to the Headmaster" she said and then escorted her students away

"Exciting start to the second bit of the year I see" Severus said to his students

"Clumsy Gryffindor's Potions Master that's all" Harry said grinning

"I'm sure, just make sure they're the clumsy ones" Severus said and walked away

"Blaise, goading the Gryffindor's is not the best idea" Harry said to the boy

"But it is just so much fun" the boy grinned

Time at Hogwarts always seemed to move to fast for Harry; between the routine of classes, training with his friends and Quidditch practices the cold of January faded into February and then March.

Training his friends had been fun, most of them were not used to physical exercise and ended up using the three months to get physically fit before they moved onto other things. Theo pulled Harry aside and told him that it was wise not to jump into more advanced spell work because someone could get injured and then they'd have to explain it to the Headmaster.

"I agree, apparently St Mungos used to receive so many students" Harry said

"So what will we do once everyone is fitter?" he asked

"We'll study for exams, making sure we understand the theory thoroughly before we practice. Next year we can get to more advanced things, maybe over the holidays I could come over and we can practice our second year potions?"

"That would be amazing, I know Neville still needs loads more help with it. When he is partnered with you he does better than when he isn't" Theo said watching their friends do push up and sit ups

"Padma has also offered to teach us yoga, Lavender and Parvati may even join us for that" Harry shrugged

"That would be interesting"

"So yeah there is other things we can focus on while we build our understanding of magic" Harry said

"Thanks for teaching and training us Harry, I know father asked" he said "Just know we will always be by your side" he said solemnly

"Thanks" Harry grinned "I have to go see Professor Snape now, I'll catch up with you later"

Walking down to Snape's office always felt like he was going for a casual visit; the older man always had something new to show Harry and had taken to getting Harry to help him with simpler potions. Harry knocked and waited for the familiar "Yes?" that came a few seconds after the knock

"Mr Potter, have a seat" he smiled

"Thanks sir, so what did you need to see me about?" Harry asked

"The first of our games is this weekend, how are you feeling about it?"

"Good, I think that Cedric Diggory does not know what is coming for him tomorrow" Harry said confidently

"Good, I wanted you to know that your friend Ms Granger has improved. She's still annoying but she's calmed down tremendously, she even helps out classmates but only when they ask" Severus said

"I'm glad, she's been enjoying the training. Thank you for the bigger classroom" he said

"That's not a problem. Thank you for staying out of trouble, even though I still hear about how evil you are every week at the staff meetings" Severus said and sighed

"We're only defending ourselves and trying to dissuade them from coming back at us. But Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, Weasley, Thomas and the Irishman are thick sir" Harry said causing Severus to chuckle

"The Irishman that must be the best nickname for that child. You should go Mr Potter, you have a game tomorrow and I'd like a win"

"Just don't blame me for catching the snitch too quickly sir" he threw that casual smile and left

Severus shook his head and removed a picture from his top drawer; the girl in the picture was smiling back at him.

"Lily, he is just like you. Sometimes it feels like you're still here with me and I'm so sorry Lils and I will take care of him" he said taking a bottle of scotch out of the bottom most draw and poured himself three fingers and emptied the glass

Harry walked back to his dorms; something moved in the corner of his eye. When he turned to look in the direction he didn't see anything so he went to investigate; quickly making his way around corners and up a set of stairs. He saw a hooded figure moving down the third floor corridor and then into a room on the right hand side

This was the corridor they were forbidden to be on; Harry approached the door and tried opening it only to find it locked. He pulled his wand and heard Mrs Norris meow down the hall and decided to investigate another day

He arrived in the common room only to be ordered to bed by Marcus Flint.

"Everyone wants to win a damn cup" he mumbled and went upstairs and got into bed immediately

The following morning Harry dressed in the excitement that was buzzing around the dorms and common room; Slytherin had never had to wait this long to play their first game of Quidditch. Harry grabbed his broom and went straight to the locker room and practised his occlumency and calmed his mind.

"Okay here we go. Focus. I am faster, both my broom and reflexes are better. Today Slytherin wins the first of three" Harry said to himself

He heard the doors open and watched the rest of the team enter the room; they all looked like racehorses rearing to go. Dumbledore had made a mistake by letting the Slytherin team play later and not mix the games in, this team was ready to demolish the rest of the school.

"It's time to go boys, today we show the school which team is taking the Quidditch cup. All the other games were close so it will come down to number of wins, Gryffindor has two wins in the bag and will be waiting for us in the last game. So Harry if you could catch that snitch early then we can stay fresh. It's Hufflepuff, let's crush them and quickly" Flint said

The game was a walk in the park; Cedric was outpaced. He flew with less skill and a slower broom because he was loyal to the brand. Harry shot off like a rocket once the whistle went; he started searching like a demon and saw Cedric chasing the snitch. Harry slipstreamed in behind him and started his overtake but Cedric swung left to block but Harry simply hung back and faked left before bolting past on the right. Harry grabbed the snitch and landed his broom to three stands filled with boo's and one with cheers, surprisingly the cheers drowned out the other noises.

"Harry Potter you speed demon" Flint grinned

"I told you, they won't know what hit them" Harry smiled at they went back to the common room to celebrate

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 14 – Investigations**

Ravenclaw ended up losing just as badly as Hufflepuff had; this meant that it came down to the Gryffindor Slytherin match. The atmosphere in the castle was one of fierce rivalry and the pranks and attacks only escalated.

The two students leading the Gryffindor army was Fred and George Weasley; two brilliant students who were the unofficial prank masters of the school. They were just as much trouble as the Marauders who came years earlier; Minerva McGonagall could not believe that two students were giving her as much trouble as four had in a previous generation.

Severus was severe in his punishment whenever he managed to outwit the pair; he had never managed to outwit the Marauders but here he was outwitting their legacy.

Albus had gathered Minerva and Severus into his rooms once a week to discuss the escalating feud which seemed to have one student at the centre of it, Harry James Potter. This Wednesday was no different as both Heads of House sat waiting for the headmaster who entered with his ever present smile plastered to his face.

"Severus, Minerva" he said smiling "Lemon drop?" he offered

"No thank you headmaster" both answered

"Has either of you managed to subdue your house and the prank war in our halls?" Albus asked

"Headmaster as I keep explaining to both you and Minerva Slytherin house is simply defending themselves. Are they doing it with force? Yes they are but it seems like the Gryffindors are taking to upping their attempts"

"What do you mean Severus?" Albus asked

"When this started between Mr Potter and the youngest Weasley I explained to Minerva that she couldn't punish my students for things that no one saw happen. Gryffindor house has taken this to heart, attacking from the shadows or from behind. Slytherin students travel in group to keep safe which led to Gryffindors attacking in larger groups" he explained

"Minerva?" he turned to his deputy

"Albus none of my Gryffindors have been seen attacking students. So I cannot punish anyone, even the portraits have been particularly unhelpful" she said "I don't know what else we can do to resolve the conflict" she said

"Call the Weasley twins in and ask them to turn out their pockets, I'm certain we'll find the culprits" Severus said

Albus was about to reply when there was commotion in one of the portraits; the figure came into view.

"Headmaster, trouble on the library floor" the man dressed in a soldier's uniform said

"Let us see what fresh prank has been played" Albus said smiling, if he was honest he enjoyed the shenanigans of the Weasley twins

Harry sat in the common room finishing up a potions essay when Theo and Blaise walked in looking white as sheets.

"What happened?" Harry asked

"A four year has been killed" Theo said swallowing hard

"How? What happened?" Daphne asked frantically

"We were walking back from the library behind the group of four year Slytherin's when the hall was filled with smoke" Theo said

"Then there was screaming, but they were screaming Margaery's name. We helped them carry her out of the smoke which just kept spreading as we moved and we started choking but then Professors Snape and McGonagall dispersed it but it was too late" Blaise finished

"Margaery has chest problems" Daphne said tears in her eyes and Blaise nodded

"She struggled to breath as soon as the smoke started that's why Sarah and Mary-Elizabeth were screaming" Theo said

"It was the Weasleys" Marcus Flint said which caused Harry to look around the common room, everyone was listening to the story and getting angrier as it finished. Before anyone could say anymore Severus walked into the room

"I see everyone knows what's happened?" he asked

"Yes sir" one of the prefects said "What is going to happen to the Weasleys?" he asked

"Nothing, we have no proof that it was the two of them who done this. I hope this brings a close to these attacks" he said to the room full of angry teenagers

"Call the Aurors in then sir" Harry said

"The Headmaster has said that he will deal with it internally" Severus said to the group "Now there is a curfew in place, everyone is to return to their common rooms as soon as dinner finishes. If anyone gets caught I will personally expel them" he said and left the room

"It doesn't end here, one of ours was taken. We will have our revenge" Flint said

"I think we should write to Susan's aunt" Harry said to his group of friends

"It's going to be dinner soon, keep it short and then we can run to the Owlery quickly" Daphne said. Harry complied and then they took off down the halls and barely made it to dinner in time

Albus Dumbledore stood at his podium and watch the two Slytherins arrive and take their seats

"Attention. Today a student passed away, she was caught in the middle of the escalating prank wars. This stops today and that's why till the end of the school year a curfew will be in place. Any student caught out of their common rooms after dinner will be expelled, no exceptions" he said "Now have dinner and off you go to your common rooms" he said and returned to his seat at the table

Before dinner ended the doors to the great hall were filled with four Aurors; leading the pack was a strong looking Black man who wore an African headdress along with his Auror robes. He strode forward confidently until he reached the headmaster

"Good evening Headmaster, we received a report that a student had been killed on the grounds" he said loudly enough that the silent hall could hear

"Kingsley maybe we should head to my office so we can discuss this unfortunate matter" Dumbledore said quietly

"Is it true Headmaster?" Kingsley asked shocked, he hoped it had been a prank

"Unfortunately it is" the older man said solemnly

"I'm sorry then Headmaster" he said and then turned to the hall "Edwards and Stephenson close the doors and lock them" he said to the Aurors at the doors who complied with his orders quickly

"Kingsley surely this is unnecessary" Dumbledore said stepping forward

"This is a ministry of magic matter now Headmaster, please take a seat and let us get to work" Kingsley said "Everybody is to remain seated while we investigate the matter, if anyone attempts to derail the investigation you will be fined and/or taken into custody. Minerva please take us to the scene of the crime"

"Of course Kingsley" the older woman said and led him out of the hall only stopping to unlock and relock the doors

"I didn't think they'd respond this quickly" Harry said to Blaise

"Yeah, but have a look at the Weasley twins" he said in reply

"It was definitely them then" Harry said "I think they've covered their tracks though"

"What are you two whispering about?" Pansy asked drawing half of the Slytherin table's attention to Harry and Blaise

"We're just wondering if this will be solved quickly, since the Aurors are here now" Harry covered

"I hope it ends the pranks" one older fourth year said

"Yeah me too" Daphne said

The minutes ticked by and rolled into hours as the hall waited for the Deputy Headmistress to return with the Aurors. The doors opened and this time more Aurors were with McGonagall, they were all being led by Kingsley once more.

"Everyone will head to their common rooms; you will be searched on your way through the doors, first we will start with the Hufflepuff students then Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin will follow." Kingsley said loud enough for the entire hall to hear

The rest of the evening saw the Aurors run scans on every student for dangerous items and then search through the rest of the castle, dorms included, looking for any evidence to the crime. Late into the night the students were allowed into their dorms so that they could sleep, not a single student managed to get any sleep as most of them sat discussing what would happen next.

"My knives have been taken" Harry said as he looked through his trunk "Only the poisoned ones though" he said unpacking his trunk onto his bed. The rest of the dorm room followed suite; Draco penned a letter to his father after having seen that many of his family heirlooms had been taken

The following morning all the students were marched back into the great hall; every face looking tired as the rest.

"We have completed our investigation and we have found shocking results. The prank which resulted in the death of a student had no magical signature attached so her death will remain unsolved" he said irritated "However, in searching the premises we found sixteen cursed objects, ninety poisoned instruments and three illegal potions. This is unacceptable and will be addressed in the next meeting of the Wizengamot, these items are banned in the Hogwarts Charter and it would behove all students to read through them. The parents and guardians of the students who carried these items will be fined. Now we will be taking our leave" he announced and nodded to the headmaster

"Well now that that is over; please be advised that classes are cancelled for today and all students are to return to their common rooms as soon as breakfast is over" Dumbledore announced and returned to his seat. Breakfast was a noisy affair but ended fairly quickly and all the students were escorted back to their common rooms by the prefects

Harry walked beside Daphne who was talking about the last time a students died at Hogwarts; she had read up on it before she came to Hogwarts. Harry listened to his friend and how she had been interested that neither of the murders were solved and the previous probably never would be; he looked at her and smiled for her to continue her story when he saw the hooded figure once more

"Daph I need to see Professor Snape quickly" he said and kissed her cheek and then ran off after the hooded figure

It went up to the third floor corridor once more; this time it was carrying a box so it was moving slower than before. He ducked into a doorway and watched the figure open the door on the right hand side and then he heard barking which stopped when the door closed once more

Harry walked briskly towards the door and tried the handle

"Locked again I see" he muttered to himself and cast a quick unlocking spell and slipping a knife into his left hand. When he entered the room he almost dropped his wand and his knife; he could not believe his eyes. A three headed dog was slumped over a small trap door, a soft song was playing from a music box laying by the door. A stranger sight would not be found anywhere in Hogwarts

The music stopped and the dog stirred; it was now or never. Harry ran for the trap door and crawled through it, he fell onto something soft. He cast a quick lumos and found that he was sitting in one of Neville's favourite plants; Devilsnare.

Back in the dungeons Daphne waited for Harry; she worked on her own potions essay. She checked a few facts in Harry's potions book when Professor Snape walked into the common room. Daphne froze waiting for Harry to walk in behind the older man but he didn't

"Professor, where is Harry?" she asked softly

"He should be here, you were all sent back to the common rooms" Severus said to the girl

"He said he was going to see you sir" she explained "He ran towards the staircases" she said

"Did you think he was going back to the great hall?" he asked her

"It looked more like he was going higher sir, but I didn't know where he would find you" she said

"Stay here" he said and left the room

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 15 – Servant vs Servant**

Harry stood at the door with the key in his hand; it still wriggled in his hand.

"What silly protections are these?" he asked himself

Devilsnare was easily dealt with by any student who paid attention to Professor Sprout; now these winged keys to be caught while riding a broom. He stood at the door wondering what would happen next; he pushed open the door and stepped into the room and saw a large chessboard. Did he really need to play a game of chess to get through the door that stood behind the black king?

"Fuck that" he decided and pulled his wand and tried levitating the pieces which to his surprise worked. He moved all the pieces off the board and strolled across and through the door which closed itself behind him; he saw the hooded figure standing by a table which was covered in potions, Severus had slowed the intruder like none of the others

"Professor Snape has you beat doesn't he?" Harry asked and stepped forward but was forced to dive to the side as a barrage of curses came his way "Who are you?" Harry asked as he kept moving

"A servant of the greatest wizard of all time" he said confidently having stopped his barrage of spells

"Look I only followed you down here because I thought you might have been one of the Gryffindors who killed my house mate. What could be hidden behind all these protections that your Master needs? And if he is so great how come he sent you?" Harry asked

"Because according to the wizarding world he was killed by a baby but I found his wraith in Albania and he is very much alive. We tried merging his wraith with me but after that he had vanished"

"Please tell me that you're not talking about Voldemort" Harry asked shaking his head

"You dare mention his name!?" the figure spun on Harry once more this time the hood falling from his head

"Quirrell?" he asked seeing his old defence professor

"Ah wondering where the stutter went I'm guessing?" he said to Harry

"Amongst other things. What are you after?"

"The philosophers stone rests behind that door" he pointed to the door behind him "But your beloved potions master has beaten me" he said advancing on Harry "You are however his favourite student aren't you"

"Why would you say that?" Harry said stepping backward

"Oh those staff meetings were such a farce but one thing I learned was that you are an excellent potion maker. Now come here" he said and grabbed Harry who allowed the man to grab hold. He was curious to see what Severus had come up with; there was a piece of parchment which lay in front of the potions and on it was written

" _Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

 _Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_

 _One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

 _Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

 _Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

 _Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

 _Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,_

 _To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

 _First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

 _You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

 _Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

 _But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;_

 _Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

 _Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

 _Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

 _Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight"_

"Wow Professor Snape really threw a spanner in the works didn't he?" Harry said amused

"A what?" the man asked

"Nothing it's a muggle phrase" he said reading over the riddle once more

"Come on hurry up I'm sure his favourite can figure it out" he said and prodded Harry in the back

"You know nothing will bring him back from the dead?" Harry asked buying himself time

"He is not dead" Quirrell shouted and hit Harry against the head

"What the hell" he said and pulled a knife and threw it at Quirrell catching the man in the shoulder

"Albus allows knives in the school? At least now I know who killed the troll" he panted

"He is a fool just like you are, you believe that you can conquer death and evil but you're woefully unprepared to take on true evil and Death would laugh at your feeble attempt" Harry said and threw another knife across the room which Quirrell dodged

"Fool you'll damage the potions" he shouted

Harry threw two knives; one directed at one of the potions he was sure was poison and a knife where he estimated Quirrell would be to stop the first. When he heard the scream he grinned, this was a grown wizard who had given away his weakness; he would do anything to protect the potion which would lead him to the stone.

"The longer you take the better the chance that Professor Snape or Dumbledore finds us" Harry warned trying to get the older wizard to make a rash decision

"Get over here and tell me which potion it is" he shouted only to be hit with another knife

"Good luck using your wand arm with two knives in it" Harry watched the older wizard put his wand in his other hand and raise it to heal his injuries. Harry threw his last knife and watched the older man's wand break

"God I love these knives" Harry smiled "What now Quirrell?" he asked

"You will pay for this, Lord Voldemort will rise again and with that he will bring me, his most faithful servant, back with him" he shouted

"Your problem Quirrell is that my master has defeated yours. He is waiting as we speak, waiting to take your life" Harry said circling his old professor

"You serve Death? There were rumours but how?" he sputtered

"You chose poorly, don't expect me to monologue like some James Bond villain. Fight me or step through the fire, either way you're about to die" Harry said retrieving one of his knives where it had fallen and closed the space between them

Quirrell was quick enough to dodge the blade but not the fist that followed; he felt a rib break when the punch landed. He jumped backward bumping the table

"I'll destroy all the potions, do not test me" he said with no particular conviction

"Go ahead" Harry said and folded his arms

"I'll do it" he said weakly

"So do it, I'll wait" Harry said knowing that he had won this battle already

"I'll kill you" the man ran forward, Harry had practised this scenario too many times with John; a larger opponent approaching with momentum was easy to deal with, one who wasn't trained in hand to hand combat and injured. That was too easy; Harry faked left and then ducked right and stabbed the man in the sternum and twisted. The sound of that came from Quirrell's mouth was horrible and filled with pain; Harry removed his blade and sliced the man's throat to shut him up.

"As I said, you chose poorly" Harry said and watched the life drain from the man's eyes. He pulled his knives from the man's body and dropped them on the table, then he dragged his body and threw it onto the flames causing it to burst into dust

"Not a pleasant way to go" he said shaking the dust from his robes

"Well done Harry" the familiar voice of Death said

"I didn't expect to see you" Harry said

"When you said my name I couldn't help but pop in for a visit and then I was treated with a fine display of knife wielding" Death said cheerfully

"He thought that Voldemort is still alive" Harry said

"The wraith died along with all the other soul pieces, all that remains is a diary that is the last piece of Voldemort's soul"

"John said that Fate has made an appearance" Harry said to the Power

"Ah yes, she violated her own rule. For that she paid quite a hefty price, you see her rule was simple and it was something she lauded over the rest of us; she would never reveal herself to a human being. She would only send her will out into the universe and when it bent events to her liking then she would become stronger. That is why I use humans to enforce my will, look how wonderfully you have served me and you're not even my Servant" he said and waited for Harry's reaction

"I'm not?" he asked eyes wide "But I've killed nine people as part of our deal"

"Exactly we have a deal, to become my servant you need to be marked. You, being a magic user, will also have certain changes as well. John chose a Latin phrase and I marked him across his back with it"

"I've seen that, I never knew where it came from" Harry said "Does your servant killing people make you stronger?" Harry asked

"Yes" he answered simply

"And how does your servant benefit? How did John benefit?" Harry asked

"They usually have longer than average life spans as long as they serve me and they draw from my power. That is why it would be a huge advantage for you as your magic reserves would be increased tremendously" he smiled

"Do you want me to be your servant?" Harry asked

"Yes and no"

"Yes because the kills will mostly be magical which would power you more but no because in a fight I would drain your power if I was not careful"

"Correct, you see John heals faster and is more durable than most non-magical people. To restore that I barely notice my power draining but you could throw the world into chaos if you depleted your core and our bond tried refilling it with my power. It nearly happened once and I needed to break my own rules to stop it from happening" he said and the temperature dropped

"How many magical servants have you had?" Harry asked

"Two. Merlin and Grindelwald" Death answered

"Okay, can I be your servant without being marked?" Harry asked

"No. Now I need you to take a step towards killing Dumbledore before Severus arrives, through there is the Philosophers stone and according to legend it was created by Nicolas Flamel who is its primary user. That is a lie, Dumbledore has been using it all these years. He has recently taken a top up of the elixir which lasts about seven years so if you destroy it then you'll face a weaker opponent in five years' time"

"If I give the stone to you won't it increase your power base? Stealing all that 'Life' from the world" Harry asked

"Maybe I should make you a servant, you're correct Harry. Since it is made by Life I cannot take it but it can be given to me" Death said proudly

"I'll do it. But I'd like to trade" Harry grinned

"I expected nothing less" Death said

"I don't know what I want but I want a promise that when I ask for it you'll give it to me no matter what?" Harry offered

"No, I can't give you immortality or anything of the sort"

"I want to increase my magical power but I've read that rituals like that require the user to be of age. I want to be able to have my core refill from your power whenever it is depleted" Harry said

"Fair enough, but it will stain your magic" Death warned

"How badly?"

"Enough to render your healing spells useless to anyone but yourself and those who can see aura's will notice that you're walking around with my aura surrounding yours. Most people will just find you intimidating or creepy"

"That's fine by me. Deal?"

"Deal" Death said and shook the boys hand "I should be grateful that you're more like Merlin than Grindelwald"

"What does that mean?" Harry asked

"Another time, hurry Severus is on his way here and I can't slow time around that blasted object" he said

Harry grabbed the bottle at the centre and drank it without a second thought and walked through the fire and saw the stone on a pedestal. He reached out and grabbed it

"Is this really it?" he asked Death

"Yes it is, Dumbledore in his infinite 'wisdom' made it so that only those who wouldn't use the stone could take it and technically you're not using it but by that logic neither was Quirrell" Death spat "He is a fool, you were right about that"

"Here you go" Harry said and tossed the stone at Death

"Our deal is done. Put this replica in its place, the fool won't know the difference until it is too late" he said and handed Harry a replica which he quickly placed on the pedestal

"Good, now I must go" Death said and vanished

Severus came into the room shortly after and saw Harry standing in the final room

"Mr Potter what happened here?" he asked

"Quirrell tried to enter here after he drank a potion and then he burst into dust" Harry said "I tried to stop him sir, but he was too powerful for me. He said his master would reward him greatly"

"The stuttering idiot chose poorly then but I see you figured out my riddle?"

"Logic was all I needed sir" he said and smiled

"It was, but you will notice Mr Potter that most of your fellow class mates are without a single ounce of it. Now we should report to the headmaster, I see his prized ruby is still there" Severus said pointing to the stand

"Yes, yes it is still there"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow. Obviously the riddle comes from the Philosophers stone by JK Rowling, it just seemed too good a riddle to not use.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 16 – Revelations**

"Let me get this straight?" The Headmaster adjusted his glasses "You saw a figure moving through the halls and you decided to investigate?"

"Yes Headmaster" Harry said

"And this isn't the first time you've seen the figure?" the older wizard asked

"I think I saw it before, I tried following it then but nothing came of it" Harry confirmed

"Why didn't you bring this matter to the staff?" Dumbledore asked

"I thought I was seeing things and I've been told that it's not normal even in the magical community" Harry admitted

"Well you were out of the common room even though you were specifically sent back there, there has to be some punishment" the Headmaster said

"Headmaster, you have to understand that Mr Potter acted in the best interest of the school" Severus argued

"I understand that Severus, if it wasn't for that I would have expelled Mr Potter but I think a one match ban will suffice" Albus said eyes twinkling

"Albus I will find a reason to ban every Gryffindor from that field by the time comes around if that's the route you want to go down" Severus warned

"Come now Severus I'm only being fair" Albus said

"That will hand the trophy to the Gryffindors, how is that fair?" Severus asked

"Repercussions for our actions" was all Dumbledore said

"Then punish me, don't punish the house. Take away my medal for services to the school" Harry offered

"I've made my decision Mr Potter" Dumbledore said

"Then I think that the Aurors need to hear about the three headed dog on the third corridor" Harry said, clearly the innocent routine was not working

"The same way you reported the matter of a student passing?" Dumbledore asked

"Yes, she was innocent. She was not involved in any of the retaliations against the stupid pranks the Weasley twins pulled" Harry said

"And I decided that it was an internal matter" Albus said

"And I decided she deserved better" Harry said

"Headmaster, nothing will be solved with this back and forth. Give Harry detention for the rest of the year" Severus said "Now I think I should escort Harry back to his common room before he saves the school again"

The trip to the common room was quick; but Harry could feel the anger radiating off his mentor. They reached the doors and Harry turned to face Severus

"Sir, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get in trouble, I thought it was one of the Gryffindors and I wanted to catch them in the act"

"I understand, I'm not angry at you Harry. This year has been trying for me, just stay out of trouble for the rest of the year" he said and left the boy to enter the common room

Harry was knocked to the ground when a mass of blonde hair ploughed into him

"Hey now don't hurt our chaser, we need to beat Gryffindor this weekend" Flint shouted

"Where were you?" Blaise asked

"Off saving the school again?" Theo joked

"Something like that, Marcus I might not be allowed to play in the game on Saturday. The Headmaster needs to decide on an appropriate punishment" Harry said

"Appropriate punishment for what?" Marcus asked

"He feels that I was supposed to be in the common room and because I wasn't, technically I was out after curfew. He feels that he is being lenient because he can expel me but Professor Snape told him that he would personally ban every Gryffindor from playing" Harry explained

"Then we'll have to wait and see" Flint said and threw himself into a seat

"Since Potter messed up I can take his place, father always said I was a fine seeker" Draco boasted

Someone threw a goblet at his head which shut him up for a bit again. Harry sat down next to Daphne and helped her with her essay. The week dragged on; the halls were quiet and the entire student body was either in class, their common rooms or in the great hall.

Dumbledore had left his announcement about Harry's punishment till the Friday dinner; he would spend every night in detention with Madam Pomfrey until the end of the year. He would do everything she requested and he wouldn't be allowed any leniency for his exams; if he could run around saving the school then he had enough time to study and serve detention.

Saturday morning arrived and the buzz of competition and rivalry had returned this time without the pranks. Harry sat between Pansy and Daphne who vowed not to let him get in any further trouble; he found himself escorted everywhere.

"Potter time to get going. Don't worry Greengrass I won't have him lead me into adventures, just to victory" Marcus said and

They took to the skies on a clear day; the stands were filled to capacity. Harry ran his hands through his hair, this was going to be a tough one. He wasn't worried about the Gryffindor seeker, Harry knew that he could out fly anyone in the school. He was worried about the Weasley twins, they were fierce beaters and they would certainly be targeting him today.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we're going to find out who wins the Quidditch cup. Will it be the bravest Gryffindor lions or the dirty lowdown…"

"Lee! I will pull you off that stand" McGonagall shouted

"Sorry Professor, or the Slytherins" he said smiling "There goes the whistle and they're off"

"Harry Potter is off searching, it seems that Dean can't keep up. Seems that money can buy you championship"

"Lee!" McGonagall shouted "One more comment"

"I'm sorry Professor. Slytherin scores thanks to Flint"

"Angelina with the quaffle and oooooh she gets hit by a bludger. Dirty snakes trying to kill our star chaser" he shouted and then he was dragged away from the mic. McGonagall gave him a lecture while the game went on

Harry was searching for the snitch but it had bolted away; Dean had just taken to following Harry around the field while the game continued. The Gryffindor keeper was doing a good enough job at keeping the score low and his chasers were keeping Robert King honest in the Slytherin goal.

Marcus took the quaffle and led his fellow chasers Joseph and Mikyla forward in an arrow formation. Fred and George fired off bludgers at the three who kept the formation tight enough to evade the onslaught so they turned their attention to Harry but he was too quick for them.

After an hour of play the game had gotten progressively dirty the beaters had managed to break three bats already and the score was tied at 120 points.

"Potter catch the fucking Snitch already" Marcus shouted which distracted Harry who barely saw the bludgers coming his way and barrel rolled on his broom narrowly avoiding the hit but Dean was not as lucky as the bludger caught him in the face and he dropped off his broom. Harry sped down and caught the boy before he hit the ground and lay his body at Madam Pomfrey's treatment table by the side line.

He saw the snitch in the Gryffindor stand's canopy; he immediately took off leaving dust behind himself and burst through the canopy of the stand snitch in hand. The whistle blew and the Slytherin stand went crazy; celebrations went on into the early hours of the morning of Sunday.

After breakfast Harry carried the Trophy to his head of house who had asked him to come around before Harry's detention.

"Here you go Sir, I caught all four three snitches so I hope I've made up for the flying lesson's mishap?" he said smiling

"You have Mr Potter, you've done extremely well this year. I know you'll excel in your exams but I want to talk to you about these" Severus said laying out knives on his desk

"Ah" was all Harry said

"I've been trying to figure out what really happened down there" Severus said

"I killed Quirrell" Harry said

"I have figured that out Harry, what happened that left six bloody knives in that room?"

Harry told Severus the entire story

"These knives are going to be the death of me" Severus sighed

"You never know" Harry smirked

"What?" Severus said shocked

"Uh nothing sir?" Harry asked uncertainly

"Tell me the truth Harry, the full truth. Where do you live? Who is your guardian and what does he do? There are rumours and after the troll I thought there may be some truth to them but that was a creature"

"I can't tell you that Potions Master, I can't have Dumbledore know" Harry said

"Why not?" Severus asked cocking an eyebrow

"I do not trust him, all his actions seem to be in the effort of gaining control of me or subduing me" Harry said

"I told you that you can trust me Harry" Severus said genuinely "This conversation will stay between us"

"I know I can trust you" he sighed

"But?"

"But I don't want you to look at me differently once you know"

"I can guarantee that I won't" Severus assured the boy

"Have you killed sir?" Harry asked

"What does that have to do with this?" he asked the boy

"Just answer me please?" Harry asked

"Yes I have Harry"

"Then you'll understand, I know I'm only 11 and I shouldn't know a lot of the things I do. I shouldn't know how to wield knives or fire a sniper rifle but I do, I shouldn't know how it sounds when a knife runs across a man's neck or the things a bullet does when fired at close range but I do. You see I lived with my mother's sister and her family and they treated me poorly but then things changed when I was about eight; I met with John, my guardian. We have a mutual acquaintance who set it up; John is a hitman and he taught me everything he knows" Harry paused

"Who could be an acquaintance of an eight year old?" Severus asked shocked by the information; he knew the boy was different, after all Harry took down a troll by himself but this was something else

"Ah, I think I'm going to need a vow before I tell you that sir" he said thinking quickly now, Death would not be pleased if Harry just told Severus everything

"I, Severus Snape, vow not to reveal any information given to me by Harry James Potter to anyone under any circumstances" he said quickly

"Thank you, but I wasn't thinking of something that restrictive. But well it's done now"

"Yes I know, I have many secrets and that vow makes sure I can keep them" he said plainly

"Okay sir. My acquaintance is Death" Harry said

"Death?" Severus asked

"Yes Professor, Death exists as a Power and he made me an offer which saved my life. He chose me as a servant but he hasn't marked me as his servant yet" Harry said

"Alchemy states that you need to give something of equal value in exchange. So for your life you gave him a life?" Severus asked

"Ten lives; three to kill Voldemort, three to give me information, three for training and one for my life" Harry said recalling the deal which felt like a lifetime ago

"Ten? How many have you crossed off" Severus asked

"Of the ten? Nine, the last one I have to wait till my sixth year to complete"

"How many people have you killed?" Severus asked "And why do you have to wait till your sixth year?"

"Do you really want to know?" Harry asked

"Yes"

"I've killed fifteen people and one Troll" Harry said

"Fifteen…" Severus muttered and took a bottle of whiskey out of his draw and poured a few fingers

"Yes sir fifteen" Harry said unashamed

"Who is the tenth target? Can it be anyone?" Severus asked after drinking his whiskey

"Dumbledore" Harry said

"Dumbledore?" Severus asked with disbelief

"Dumbledore" he nodded

"It's impossible" Severus dismissed "I hate the old bastard but he is too powerful"

"That's why I need to get better and that's why the Philosophers stone is now Deaths" Harry said and poured the man another glass of whiskey "I think you'll need this" he said and sat down again

"You're eleven years old, how are you okay with all of this?" Severus asked

"I know what I want sir, I'm willing to sacrifice my innocence for it" Harry said

"I have so many questions, I'm going to ask Madam Pomfrey to send you here for your detentions" Severus said

"I wanted to ask you about something sir" Harry said

"Go ahead"

"Is it safe to practice higher year spells already?" Harry asked

"It depends on the witch or wizard. Generally it is dangerous but if you bring me the spells you're planning on using then I'll be able to help"

"Why are you so okay with this?" Harry asked, he knew why John was okay with his life choices but Severus was just a Potions Master

"I chose wrong Harry, what do you know about Voldemort? Except that Death is going to kill him once and for all?" Severus asked

"Please tell me you didn't let him put that ugly mark on your arm?" Harry sighed

"Nott told you about it I'm guessing" he said rolling up his left sleeve to reveal the mark

"Goddammit" Harry said "Is this the truth you were going to tell me Professor?"

"A part of it Harry" Severus admitted

"Okay" Harry said "Tell me"

"I led Voldemort to your parents Harry, I was young and jealous. The prophecy spoke of a child born at the end of June but it did not specify which child. I overhead the prophecy and I took it to the Dark Lord" Severus explained

"Jealous of what?" Harry asked angrily

"It would be easier to show you Harry" Severus said and stood "This is a pensieve, it will allow us to view memories"

"Okay" he said and stood next to Severus who was pulling memories from his mind and dumping them into the bowl

"Lean forward into the bowl, you'll be pulled in and then we can view the memories" he explained and then followed his own instructions. Harry leaned forward and found himself standing in a meadow watching a young boy about two years younger than he was; he saw the boy wearing oversized clothes which were mismatched as well. Then he saw a girl come running over the hill

"Sev I manage to do the flower trick" she said smiling and then Harry saw her eyes, they were the same eyes he looked into whenever he looked into the mirror

"I met her when we were children like I told you before, she was so taken with magic. Magic allowed us to be friends as you can see; I wasn't from a good home and she was, her parents made sure she never wanted for anything. I showed her small bits of magic that I could perform" the grown Severus said "Then we went to Hogwarts" he explained and the scene shifted to the familiar compartments of the Hogwarts express. The same boy and girl sat beside one another; they were older now but still as taken with each other as they had been in the meadow. They promised to always be friends

"That promise is the one promise I never kept" the older Severus said to Harry and watched the scene change to the sorting "It started here, she was so proud to be sorted in Gryffindor and I was equally proud to be sorted into Slytherin but our friendship changed. Your father" he said pointing to a boy who looked exactly like Harry but with brown eyes "and his friends made it their mission to keep her from me" the older Severus

The scene shifted to Severus walking toward the library only to be stopped by the Harry look-alike and his friends

"Snivellus" the look-alike said

"Potter, what do you want?" he asked

"Oh nothing just this" he said and grabbed a book from Severus "Let's have a look" he said and read from the book

"Give it back Potter"

"Give it back Potter" one of the boys mocked "Pathetic Slytherin, I'm so glad I was sorted in Gryffindor rather than that house of Snakes"

"It's better to crush the pods instead of cutting them" the look-alike read "Are you a potion master now?" he laughed and started tearing pages from the book

"Stop it you idiot" Severus said and tried to grab the book but the look-alike threw it to one of his friends

"That was their most brazen attack without magic" the older Severus said

The scene shifted and showed another confrontation between the four boys and Severus

"I'm sure you know which one is your father" the older Severus said to Harry

"Who are the other three?" he asked

"Sirius Black is the one with the fine robes like James has, the scruffy fat boy is Peter Pettigrew and the one who is staying back is Remus Lupin" the older Severus said

Just as the three accomplices were about to pull their wands Harry's mother came around the corner

"Leave him alone James" she shouted and shoved his father out of the way

"She would manage to intervene some days" the older Severus said "But that was a rare occasion" as memories of all the confrontations shifted. The cast of the memories got older and the nicknames became more mean spirited until they stopped at a memory where a teenaged Severus stood outside the Gryffindor common room

"Come on Lily, I didn't do anything wrong. I was just trying to give them some payback for all the years' abuse" he pleaded with her

"You put Remus in the infirmary" she shouted

"I was defending myself, he is a werewolf" the last word whispered

"I don't care" she said "You're running around with a bad crowd who all want to follow some mad man"

"What would a mudblood know" the teenaged Severus asked angrily and immediately regretted it, Lily reacted as if she had been struck

"How dare you Snape?" she asked "We're done" she said eyes filled with tears

"That is the moment I wish I could take back" the older Severus said heavily "Because that was when I lost her. After that the attacks happened every day" he said

"Can I go?" Harry asked

"Yes" Severus said and ended the memories

"I understand your reasons. I just need to work through this" he said and left the room

Severus looked at the clock, they had been in here so long that it was almost dinner time. He had not meant to show Harry so many memories, now the boy had to face the fact that his father was as bad as Malfoy was.

"Merlin help us all" he said to himself quite drunkenly

Harry walked down the halls in a daze; Severus was tormented by his father for being in love with his mother. How could Severus look at him and not want to beat the face that caused him so much pain? He was a better man that what Harry was and he was atoning for his sins as best as he could

He ended up in his training room and locked the door behind himself; he had never expected to learn about his parents and now he had and the fantasy of a perfect father had been destroyed. His father was just like Malfoy; a grin permanently stuck to his face and perpetually over confident, he antagonised those who he felt like and his favourite victim was Severus Snape.

Severus was tortured, Harry saw four hours' worth of his father and his friends make every class unbearable for Severus. He nearly died when Sirius Black led him down the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow. What was Harry supposed to do with this information?

Dinner passed and neither Harry nor Severus were seen in the hall; Daphne and Blaise fielded all the questions about their friend's whereabouts when their Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw friends asked about him.

Harry walked back to Severus' office and knocked on the door

"Potions Master, it's me" he said

"Come in Mr Potter" Severus said almost deflated

"I'm sorry" Harry said shocking Severus almost completely sober

"What do you have to be sorry about?" he asked

"I'm sorry for how my father treated you" he said "You didn't deserve that"

"I'm sorry that you lost them Harry" Severus said

"I'll be okay, I've always missed them but yeah. You opened my eyes" he said sitting down in the chair he'd been in earlier

"I'm still sorry"

"Thank you for telling me Potions Master" Harry said

"I told you it would change our relationship Harry, please call me Severus"

"Okay Severus, but only in private?"

"I think that may be best" Severus said with a hint of a smile. He heard the boys stomach growl "Did you make it down to dinner?" he asked

"No I didn't"

"Stay here I'll get an elf to bring us food" he said and stepped into the door at the back of his office

Harry stood and examined the room and saw a picture on the desk of his mother on the desk

"You can keep that one, next time I'll show you more" he heard Severus say

"Thank you Severus" he smiled

"Now tell me more about you plan to Kill Dumbledore" he said seriously "It's not going to be easy"

"Well…"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**

 **I love writing Quidditch scenes but Harry as a Quidditch player is not a big part of this story so they will be quite summarised like this one or they'll be skipped like the other games.**

 **Also this chapter ran away with me so it is almost double the usual size.**

 **Question: Do you guys think that James was as good as JK Rowling made him seem? I always thought he was more like Draco without the blood purity**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 17 – First year is over. Next up? Second year? Summer? Who knows? Do you guys and girls even read my chapter names?**

John sat on a bench at the train station wearing a suit and reading the letter he had received earlier that morning

 _Good day Mr Wick,_

 _My name is Severus Snape, I am your charges Head of house here at Hogwarts. I'm uncertain whether or not he has told you about him so I'll give you a brief introduction; I teach Harry potions and over the last year I had the pleasure of giving him some private lessons on potion making and various magical concepts._

 _I have also been having discussions with him regarding his home life and how it came to be; a highly unusual set or circumstances. I know everything and I will endeavour to help Harry accomplish his task as much as you have_

 _Please also find enclosed a copy of his progress reports and his results for the year. I'm glad to report that he is first in his year._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Potions Master Severus Snape_

He opened the results which started with an explanation on the grading system that existed with annotations made in the same handwriting that was in the letter.

◦ _O = Outstanding (Equivalent to an A grade)_

◦ _E = Exceeds Expectations (Equivalent to a B grade)_

◦ _A = Acceptable (Equivalent to a C grade)_

◦ _P = Poor (Equivalent to a D grade)_

◦ _D = Dreadful (Equivalent to an E grade)_

◦ _T = Troll (Equivalent to an F grade)_

 _The first three are passing grades, the last three are failing grades_

 _The results for Harry James Potter are as follows;_

 _Transfiguration – O_

 _Charms – O_

 _Potions – O_

 _History of Magic – EE_

 _Defence against the Dark Arts – O_

 _Astronomy – EE_

 _Herbology – EE_

 _Flying – O_

 _Additional comments – Harry James Potter is a dedicated student who has earned the award "Services to the school" for defeating a Troll who had invaded the school. We look forward to many great things from him as the year's progress._

John was impressed by the results; clearly Harry had taken his education seriously without any input from John or his relatives. Clearly he had found a group of friends and a magical equivalent of what John was to him, who believed in Harry just as much as John did and would help him finish his final task.

"That kid is going to change the world" he muttered to himself

"Yes he is" Death sat down next to John; the power had decided to take on the appearance of JFK and was wearing a hat

"Thanks to you I guess" John said and stowed all the papers in his suit jacket

"All four of us; me, you, Severus and Fate" Death said casually "Even though Fate is a regretful participant; he powers her more than she's willing to admit"

"I'm willing to admit it" Fate said taking the other seat next to John

"Oh fuck" John said

"Uncomfortable sitting between two powers?" Fate asked

"No, it's more that I'm sitting between a JFK look-alike and a Marilyn Monroe look alike. Yeah you're wearing modern clothing and you're both wearing hats as if that will stop attention being drawn to us" John shook his head "Why couldn't you just choose random faces from the crowd"

"I liked John, his death was spectacular and one I really didn't expect" Death said

"And Marilyn was perfect" Fate shrugged "Besides, our magic will keep people's attention off us"

"So why are you visiting me?" John asked Death

"I just wanted to see my servant" Death said and Fate just coughed "What was that?" Death asked

"I said bullshit, I've made sure that whenever you see him I'll be here" she said

"Fate, he is still my servant and that's something you can't change." Death said to his fellow Power

"Oh it's not something I'm looking to change, I just want to be there when he makes a new deal so that I know when to set my plan in motion" Fate said nonchalantly

"What plan?" John demanded

"Oh just a plan to give you all the happiness in the world" she smiled "And then watch you suffer when you remember that He is coming for her" she laughed

"Now now Fate play nice, John is only serving and you too could have servants if you ever decide to break your one rule" Death smirked, it seemed like an odd feature to fill the face of JFK

"You know we should never break our own rules. That's why we get to choose our own rule" she said and glared at Death

"Wait what is your rule?" John asked

"Not to reveal myself to humans and now that I have revealed myself to you I can do it as often as I like but the first time cost me and if I keep doing it…" she said shaking her head

"We can only hope you break your rule more often and eventually perish" he shrugged "Now before Mr Potter arrives I wanted to have a word"

"Is that supposed to chase me off?" Fate asked

"No, I was hoping it would encourage you to stay. You see I was hoping John here would care to explain to me what he has been teaching Harry or if I should have a word with a one Mr Severus Snape" Death said sounding amused

"You know I taught him everything I know; how to think, how to identify opportunities and how to kill" John said

"How to think. That is what is the cause that I now share power with the boy without him having to be my servant, never did I ever think that someone would outsmart me" Death chuckled

"How can that be?" Fate asked clearly shocked by the information

"I wanted to take life from this world" Death started "And Harry understood that it would benefit me and asked for something in return. He wanted time to think about it and I forced his hand and he came up with something rather clever"

"Of course he did, he knew you couldn't take something that Life had created or he figured out that it would redistribute the balance of power" Fate said

"Yes, even though Life and I have a tenuous relationship and he will always lose to me; he finds these little trinkets to delay his loss. So Harry asked for a connection to me, he wants his core to fill from my power and I agreed. Even though his core is bigger than everyone his age, it is still small enough for me to take the risk and by the time it becomes dangerous he will have tripled my power base" Death smiled as if he had beaten the system

"You may have Hate, Love, Greed and Envy in your pocket but Life, Peace and I will find a way to stop you" Fate said and stormed off

"How do you have both Love and Hate in your pocket?" John asked curiously

"Love requires sacrifice and sometimes that sacrifices can go wrong especially when they're the kind that require death. Hate is fuelled by emotions of vengeance or anger and death inspires those emotions better than most" Death said

"Okay so won't Harry be a problem then?" John asked JFK

"No, he won't but I'll need to make him a servant before he reaches his majority otherwise he will become a major problem"

"He is really something isn't he?" John remarked

"That he is, you taught him well Johnathan." Death said and stood to leave "And be careful of Fate, she's really not pleased with either of us and I'm the only one she won't make a direct move against" he said and then walked off

John grabbed himself a cup of coffee and a sandwich from a nearby stand; his life had definitely changed since Harry had come into it. Before it was him and his weird relationship with Death and he was none the wiser about the rest of these Powers now he knew that there were at least eight of them and one was out to make his life hell.

He ate his sandwich and drank his coffee and then turned back to his newspaper. Harry wasn't supposed to arrive for another half an hour so John took a walk around the station to stretch his legs; why was he here so early in the first place? He knew the answer to the question but could not admit it to himself

He checked his watch and made his way back to platforms nine and ten; he sat down and waited for the final few minutes before Harry came through the wall. A couple sat at the bench next to his; he recognised them as the couple Harry had greeted the last time and they seemed to recognise him as well

"Hi there" the man said to him

"Hi"

"We're the Grangers, Hermione's parents. You must be Harry's guardian?" the woman smiled

"I am, John" he said extending his hand

"Daniel and this is my wife Jane" the male Granger said

"How's Hermione enjoying Hogwarts?" he asked

"She's having a spectacular time, your boy is really such a positive influence in her life. You see Hermione hasn't really had friends before Hogwarts, she's always been lost in her books and an eager learner and we'd hoped as she got older it would get better."

"But it didn't?" John asked

"No it didn't, not until recently when Harry spoke to her. Between Neville and your boy they have made our daughter better"

"Daniel!" Jane reprimanded

"Okay more chilled" he said looking at his wife

"Better"

"Well I'm glad Harry could do some good" John smiled his polite smile

"Here they come" Jane smiled and stood

Harry walked out behind Hermione looking serious as usual; he scanned the area and then his eyes came to a rest on John and then he raised his eyebrows seeing John stand next to the Grangers, John just shrugged.

"Mom, dad" Hermione smiled and hugged her parents "Mr Wick" she said politely

"Ms Granger" he smiled back at her

"John" Harry said and received his own name back in reply

"We've got to get going, we need to pick up Hermione's aunt at the airport as well" Daniel said and led his family away

"We should get going as well" John said

"Are we going to the Continental?" Harry asked

"We are, but we're going to the one in New York. I don't want to spend more time than I have to in England" John answered and opened the car

"Where do you stay when I'm at Hogwarts?" Harry asked curiously as he settled into the car

"Not in one place, but I rarely spend time in the UK. There's not really much work here and it doesn't pay well"

"What's your problem? What's up your ass?" he asked imitating Marcus

"Fate" he said and tightened his grip on the steering wheel "And Death"

"What happened?" Harry asked

John sighed deeply "Well…"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 18 – Handing over the baton**

Harry sat at a table in the lounge of the New York Continental; he was eating breakfast and reading his new Mind Magic book. Addy had prepared him a breakfast as she had taken a liking to him and John, Harry wondered if it was because she wanted to be with John. She had shown up to their room to talk or to bring John food which Harry thought was an excuse to see John.

He put the thoughts out of his mind and went back to his book, today he would be flying back to England and staying with various friends for the rest of the summer. He had hoped that John would be okay with Fate making her threats and Death pressing him. John had promised that he would be okay.

Harry closed his book and finished off his breakfast before he had to head up to his room to pack the last of his things. He walked past John's room and heard him talking to someone but it didn't sound violent or like an argument so Harry entered his room. He had all his new books packed into his new trunk which had six times the space his old trunk had but on the outside it was actually smaller; he was curious to see who the new Defence against the dark arts professor would be as they had allocated many books on Creatures and Dark creatures and a note had been included that Care of Magical creatures would be combined.

He looked over his subjects for the following year; Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Defence against the Dark Arts, Astronomy and Herbology. He was really looking forward to third year when he could drop History of magic and Astronomy and pick up Arithmancy and Ancient Runes so he could put practical applications to the theory he had read up on. He closed the lid of his trunk and checked his attire in the mirror before he went to checkout with John.

The knock at his door came at exactly midday, John was on time as always. Harry carried his trunk and bag to the door and swung it open.

"Ready to go?" John asked

"I am" Harry said "Still need my airplane ticket" he added

"You're not going by plane, I've arranged for you to take a portkey, apparently it's quicker than a plane"

"It is, I didn't know that you could take them over such a long distance" Harry said

"Well it is, the Nott's wrote and they advised it. They'll pick you up at the Ministry" John said and loaded the trunk into the car

"So where do I take the portkey from?" Harry asked buckling himself into the car

"America's equivalent of the Ministry of Magic" John said

The drive was uncomfortably silent for Harry, this felt more like a goodbye than a see you in a few months. John seemed angry and defeated about something but there wasn't anything Harry could do if the man didn't share his problems. They arrived at a coffee shop and Harry and his belongings were deposited into a black SUV

"I want you to have these" John said and gave Harry a suitcase

"This is goodbye isn't it?" Harry asked

"It is, be safe and be vigilant and most importantly give them Hell" John said

"I will, I will" Harry said trying to contain the emotion in his chest

"Goodbye Mr Potter" John said and stepped away from the car and took a seat in the coffee shop. He didn't have to wait long before an equally well dressed man sat down across him. John studied the man; his hair was as dark as the night and his eyes showed regret and pain.

"Mr Wick" he said in an English accent

"Potions Master Snape" John replied "Call me John"

"Very well, call me Severus" the man said

"Severus, thank you for meeting me here. I know you were just as surprised by my letter as I was by yours" he said and paused when the waitress arrived and took their orders; both preferring a cup of coffee, black no sugar.

"I must admit I was" Severus acknowledged

"I wanted to meet you when I wrote the letter but a visit this morning has changed what I wanted to discuss with you. Firstly let me thank you for helping Harry, he doesn't have much in this world and Fate is robbing him of yet another thing"

"Your guidance?" Severus asked

"Yes" he answered simply

"And you'd like me to take him in over summers?" Severus asked

"And be his mentor, I've trained him to kill and he is amazingly efficient at it. He is okay with Death Severus, well both death and Death himself. I know you'll understand this better than anyone else given your past; Harry doesn't believe in good or evil or the concepts of light or dark magic, he believes in power and he is going to be powerful." John said

"Did he say those exact words? That he doesn't believe in light or dark just power?" Severus asked

"No, it's just a summary of discussions I've had with him" John said

"Okay then, physically he is taking care of himself. I'm guessing that you need me to train him in his magic ability?"

"Yes, he knows what to train and how to train physically but he still needs training in almost everything magic related" John said

"I told you in my letter that I would; I have already planned out this year and what he needs to start doing. There are rituals that I would have him perform starting once he gets back to the castle; when he eventually faces Dumbledore he will be a force to be reckoned with" Severus said

"Good, there's one more thing he needs to learn and it's something only a master could teach him" John said "Don't give me that look, it's not flattery it is the truth. Not many people are able to spy and play two separate rolls and he needs to do that"

"You seem to have discussed me at great length with Harry" Severus stated

"We have, he is open and truthful once he knows that he can trust you" John said

"He is still sloppy in playing both roles and I'm guessing he is planning on trying to get closer to the Headmaster as the years go?"

"Correct" John said and drained his cup

"I will assist him, what happened with Fate?" Severus asked

"Death has pissed her off royally and it seems that she is trying to get me away from Harry as she seems to think that I'm the reason that he is the way he is. She thinks that losing me will cause Harry to rethink this lifestyle"

"Will she not attempt to do the same thing to me then?" Severus wondered out loud

"You have magic on your side; a vow to be specific" John said "I know a lot about magic, I was prepared to raise Harry until he was an adult and I wanted to be prepared" John said seeing the man was shocked

"The vow to Lily?" Severus asked

"Yes, you vowed that you would watch over him and protect him but I can't have you allow Dumbledore to put him back with those pigs he lived with"

"I wasn't aware how bad things were; it's no excuse I know but those are the facts" Severus responded

"Good, I know I hurt him today but it was for the better. Fate was threatening to destroy herself and take him with her and I couldn't have that"

"So I take it she is not to be messed with?"

"No she is not" John said "Just stay away from the powers if you can" he added

"I will keep that in mind, did he tell you about the deal he made with Death?" Severus asked

"The one for the Philosophers stone?" John asked

"Yes that one" Severus said

"And yes I know that it will stain his magic but that is one of the decisions he made and those decisions will make him the man he wants to be. He isn't afraid of power and I hope that you'll stay till the end"

"Power can corrupt" Severus said "I have seen that but I think he has a good heart, I've seen him at Hogwarts, and he will be okay. Shall I send you his progress reports at the end of each year?"

"No. But please give him this" John said and handed him a letter

"She made you promise to get out of his life completely didn't she?" Severus asked

"Yes she did. Now I have given him a thousand gold pieces, not the same as what you use for currency, bonds to the value of two million pounds and cards to all my contacts for clothing and weapons. Potions Master Snape I think that concludes our meeting unless you have anything else to add?"

"No Mr Wick, I will watch over him" he said and shook John's hand

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**

 **This one is shorter than all the rest but it was difficult for me to take John out of the story at this point and shift its focus more to the magical side of the story. Will there still be jobs for Harry to take on in the assassin world? Yes. Will they be magical people he kills? Maybe.**

 **Let me know if you guys wanna read the letter that John wrote Harry?**

 **Next chapter we'll be heading back to Hogwarts**

 **Also can you guess who is the new DADA Professor?**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 19 –**

Harry sat in the room that the Nott's had given him; he sat on the floor with the case open on the floor in front of him. The case had definitely had the feather light and expansion charms on it since its contents could not fit in a normal size case.

He just sat staring at the case and the letter that now rested next to the case; Severus had stopped by to deliver the letter and remind Harry that he was available for training and advice. Harry hadn't said more than three words to anyone since he had arrived.

He opened the envelope and unfolded the letter and saw John's elegant writing

 _Harry,_

 _In the line of work we have chosen attachments are unheard of and extremely dangerous but there was never a moment that I felt that way having you around. When we first met I warned you about the relationship that we would have and tried to make it clear I wasn't there to baby you or to be your father or a father figure but something happened as the days went on._

 _I am proud of you Harry James Potter and nothing will ever change that; you are a talented assassin and I have no doubt that you'll be a great wizard. No one can stop you and no one will best you on any field; I wish I could have stayed I really do._

 _Thank you for the travels and thank you for the memories, if ever I'm lucky enough to have a son I hope that he turns out to be just like you._

 _I'd be lying if I said that I wish I never met a Power because without Death I would have never met you and without Fate I would never have lost you._

 _This is goodbye Harry_

 _Your friend_

 _John_

He threw the letter into the fireplace

"Good bye John" he said sadly

He closed the case and took a shower before heading back downstairs

"There he is!" Nott Sr. said smiling

"Mr Nott, Theo" Harry said greeting the two male Nott's

"My wife was telling me that Severus stopped by; you should inform the potions master that he is free to visit you if he needs. I assume it had to do with the discussion we had before you went back to school?" he asked sitting in his favourite chair

"It did sir, Theo and Blaise have come a long way in the short six months. The four of us will be a formidable squad" he said proudly

"Ah yes I heard that Mr Longbottom is part of your little group; tell me who are the members training with you?" the older man inquired

"Well, it's rather a mixture of the Houses" he began

"Hogwarts houses mean nothing in the real world to serious players Harry, only surname and power" he said

"Okay sir, it helps me sort them into three groups. The yoga group consists of Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and Hannah Abbott, these three have chosen to do no violent physical training and prefer to stick solely to the Hogwarts curriculum. Then the Healers consist of Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Susan Bones and Tracy Davis, these five have chosen to participate in all training except offensive magic and replaced it with healing magic. What Theo and I have noticed as well is that they get tired quite quickly when they perform combat magic but their reserves stay quite stable when performing Healing Magic so all five will be interning with Madam Pomfrey and Potions Master Snape. Then there are the hard hitters which consists of Theo, Blaise, Neville and myself, we don't have the skill or inclination to perform healing magic but we can cast combat magic easier than the rest. So the current number of member comes to twelve but there are prospective members; Astoria Greengrass, Emily Davis start Hogwarts this year and Justin Finch-Fletchley and Terry Boot from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have hung around us before and show potential in class to join the Hard hitters group" Harry said thinking to himself

"You never said anything about Justin and Terry" Theo said "But I agree, Justin likes Hannah or Susan and that's why he is around."

"Just be careful that Hormones aren't the reason you're compromised" Nott Sr. advised

"Yes sir, could you tell me about magical tattoos?" Harry asked and the older man understood his question

"Would you like them to be linked?" the older man asked

"Preferably" Harry said

"Inking the skin is easy, it can be done by anyone willing to learn the spell and is powerful enough to do many in a row. Next you'll have to choose a design which can be as easy or as complicated as you want it makes no difference to the process, then comes the difficult part. The spells you want woven into the ink, this takes the longest and can be the most painful depending on the spells used" the older man answered

"What about a basic strengthening spell?" Harry asked

"Only you would call such a spell basic" he laughed at the naivety in the boy's question "It's more of a ritual but I don't know the specifics but it takes three years to complete" he answered

"What about compulsion charms father?" Theo asked

"Easy and painless. Imperius curse on the other hand, difficult and painful" he answered his son "And illegal if that bothers you" he smiled

"I guess some more thought will have to go into it" Harry said thoughtfully

"I would limit the tattoo to the hard hitters in the beginning since you can always add the rest in" Nott Sr. said

"Actually I think everyone should take the tattoo but only the hard hitters get the spells infused in. It means that Dumbledore will either find nothing wrong with it or he will be extremely suspicious and call me in to speak to him" Harry said

"Why would you want the Headmaster to call you in?" Nott Sr. asked curiously

"Having the Headmaster on our side is a good thing. Our motives are above board and beyond reproach" Harry said

"Fair enough" Nott Sr. said "Now I need you to show me your skills" he said and stood

As they walked down the stairs into the dungeon; it was an open space which was very well lit room

"We have a few spells that direct light from above" Nott Sr. explained

"I was wondering" Harry said thoughtfully as he removed his jacket and checked his wand and knife holsters

"Father, I was thinking about getting a weapon as well" Theo said "Maybe a dagger"

"I think there are a few in the family vault, we can go and check when we go get your new robes" his father responded "Now show me what Harry has taught you"

"No knives" Harry said and took off his holster and threw it to a corner

"You're too kind" Theo said sarcastically

"Begin" Nott Sr. said loudly

Harry moved to his left and fired off stunners at Theo chose to duck underneath them and fired a tickling hex at Harry blocked it with a shield and advanced on Theo who stepped back to avoid Harry's approach. This continued for another few minutes

"Stop" Nott Sr. said "Your spell knowledge is extremely limited and you need to broaden that in this coming year. Next Theo you moved way too little, you only moved when Harry forced you to. You also wait too long to take the offensive" he said

"I was being cautious" Theo said

"When Zabini gets here I want to see his progress as well. I expected this, Hogwarts seems to carry on the same way no matter what happens in our world."

"We need advice on which books to use and which spells to practice" Harry said

"Let's go to Diagon Alley, We'll get robes, blades and books all in one go" the older man said enthusiastically and led the boys out of the basement

"Berty" Theo called and a house elf popped up

"Tell mother that we're heading to Diagon Alley" he said and then they were off

Shopping with Nott Sr. was a completely different experience to moving through the crowd with John; Nott Sr. stopped at the Daily Prophet which he owned seventy percent of and then they kept popping into various stores which Nott Sr. and Malfoy owned together.

"So your dad and Malfoy are friends?" Harry asked

"No, they hate one another but they took over their families when they were in sixth year. They built up the families from almost nothing to what you see today, one of the big six I would say" Theodore explained

"Which families make up the rest of the six?" Harry asked

"Well I would say the Blacks, the Potters, the Bones' and the Greengrass families but some people argue about the Blacks and Potter since they've been inactive for a while."

"I guess I'll have to do the same for the Potters" Harry smiled

They managed to finish their shopping and headed back to the house before nightfall; Harry looked through their new books as the house elves prepared supper. This summer was bittersweet but Harry promised himself that he would try and make the best of it

Blaise arrived in time for supper and Neville joined the group the following week; once the hard hitter group was fully formed they started their training in earnest, they first had to learn to gather their magic which required serious meditation.

Nott Sr. laughed at the sight of four nearly teenaged boys sitting completely still. The process ended taking them the rest of the summer to manage but when they arrived at King's cross station Nott Sr. told them that he was pleased with their progress and he hoped that by Christmas he'd be in for a treat watching them duel.

"I can see your Aura's radiating with excited energy" Theo's mother said

"I'm sure Dumbledore will be interested in how you four increased your power and to think it is such a simple process. Even if it did take you nearly a month" the older man laughed

"Father Harry actually has a theory about it" Theo said nudging Harry

"Out with it, the train is going to leave soon" the older man boomed, Harry had grown used to the man's larger than life personality. Uncle Vernon would be envious of the connections this man had crafted

"I think Magic is like any muscle in your body, the more you use and stretch it the more effective it is." Harry shrugged

"It does make sense" Theo's mother said

"Thank you for letting us stay Mr and Mrs Nott" Harry said when the train's engines noise picked up.

"Call me Mary, you have been in my care and will be often enough" Mrs Nott smiled

"Call me sir" Nott Sr. laughed when Harry looked at him

The boys said their good byes and got onto the train to find the girls; they ended up walking to the back of the train where there were larger compartments.

"Hi guys" Neville said as they entered

Greetings were exchanged and then mini conversations resumed.

"Harry this is my sister Astoria" Daphne said as Harry took his seat

"Nice to meet you Ms Greengrass" he smiled "I've heard a lot about you"

"She called me the Devil didn't she?" Astoria said suspiciously

"I don't quite remember the exact words" Harry laughed at Daphne's death glare at her sister

"It's okay I know she tells everyone that" Astoria said laughing too

"I wish father would send you to Beauxbatons" Daphne sighed

"Beauxbatons?" Harry asked "That's the French Hogwarts right?" he asked

"Yes it is, Mother attended the school" Astoria said before Daphne could answer

"I almost attended" Harry admitted

"What? Why?" Daphne demanded

The rest of the group discussed their summers and were surprised that the four boys had spent so much time together

"Yeah it was mainly because Harry planned on arriving earlier" Theo said to Hermione "But don't ask him about it, Professor Snape told my father that his guardian has left him so he needs to find a place to stay"

"So will he stay with you when we're not at Hogwarts?" Tracey asked

"Probably or with Neville since they have the alliance already" Theo said

"They should tell Dumbledore…" Hermione started

"No" Harry said from where he sat which caused the entire compartment to be silenced "Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, he has no say it my life outside those walls. He has interfered enough"

"But he could help Harry" Hermione said pleading

"Hermione Jean Granger, this is my life and I will make the decisions. If I am fortunate to be invited to stay with any one of you" he said indicating to everyone in the compartment "then I will or I will find Potter Manor or I will stay at the Leaky Cauldron but Dumbledore will have no say in the matter"

"Alright Harry, if you think that is best" she said sounding defeated

"I know you mean well but I do know better" he said sighing, he had been too forceful "You see I grew up with my Uncle and Aunt and they are Muggles who despise Magic" he began telling them the story of his life carefully editing John's profession and influence

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 20 – Second year seems to be filled with Newts**

"Welcome back to another year" Dumbledore said smiling "I would like to announce that we have managed to secure a new defence against the Dark Arts Professor, he comes with a stellar record. Please join me in welcoming Mr Newton Artemis Fido Scamander back to Hogwarts, I've had the pleasure in teaching him and fighting alongside him. Please make his second stay at Hogwarts one to remember" he smiled and watch the students give the man a round of applause

The evening passed rather quickly and before they knew it the students were back in the great hall for breakfast. Severus walked along the Slytherin table handing out timetables

"Let's hope we have less classes with Gryffindor's" Blaise said sleepily

"Then you wouldn't get to sit with your girlfriend" Daphne teased

"Yeah the future Mrs Zabini would be devastated" Theo laughed

"Hey I'm the one teasing" Daphne said and pouted "At lease Blaise has a girlfriend and you do not" she said causing her friends to shake their heads

"Professor may we ban Daphne from making these horrible puns" Theo said exasperatedly as Severus handed out

"No you may not" he said and walked away

It took a few seconds for them to burst into laughter

"What have you done to our Potions Master?" Blaise demanded

"Leave Daphne alone she is so funny" Harry said and put his arm around her

"Let's see who we have class with shall we? First Potions with Lions" Daphne smiled

"Oh Merlin" Blaise said dramatically "At least Lavender will be there" he smiled

"Then Charms with those very same Lions" Daphne continued "Followed by Astronomy tonight with the Lions" she said

"Dumbledore must want us to murder a Lion this year" Harry said shaking his head

"It looks like they've just discovered that we have classes with them today" Theo said looking across the Hall at Ronald who was pointing at them

"Don't provoke them" Harry said "I don't want to fight with them this year, Draco is who worries me. Did you notice that he is keeping to himself and he has ditched the two paper weights?" Harry asked

"And he has a new trunk which has blood protections" Theo added "They're borderline legal"

"He is hiding something and we need to be careful" Harry said

"Let's go get our bags" Daphne said lightening the mood

"Yeah time for an overdose of Lions" Theo muttered sarcastically "Do you think it could be fatal?"

Severus was proud of his Snakes and the longer the lesson went on the prouder he got. It seemed like all of them had gone through their potions textbooks and familiarised themselves with the method and ingredients; they all moved with purpose through the ingredient store and each one of them pulled out a notebook when they prepared their potions

"You're cheating" he heard the idiot Weasley say

"What's the issue here?" Severus said swooping onto the scene

"They aren't using the potions textbook" he shouted and pointed at Harry's group

"They're using handwritten notes, if you bothered going through your potions book you'd be able to do that as well Mr Weasley" Severus said and left the scene

"He probably gave them the book" Ronald said

"Shut your mouth. Potions Master Snape's behaviour is beyond reproach" Harry said angrily but quietly

"Okay you dirty cheating Snake" Ronald said and turned back to his cauldron

Harry let his magic flare which caused the fire under Ronald's cauldron to double in temperature which caused an already poorly prepared potion to explode into the face of the redhead leaning over the cauldron. Ronald ran around the classroom screaming

"My head is on fire" he shouted

"It's just your red hair" Blaise joked

"Stand still" Severus said and cast a few spells before dumping a potion on Ronald's head and cast another spell quickly "Now go to madam Pomfrey and hand her this" he said giving Ron a slip of parchment

"Professor I believe it was Harry who caused the explosion" Seamus said

"What happened then?" he asked the Irish boy who had been working with Ronald

He explained everything they had done up until the explosion

"At which point did Mr Potter touch the cauldron or ingredients?" Severus asked

"I don't know ask him. Check his wand" he demanded of the professor. Severus asked Harry for his wand which he gladly gave the professor who cast a Priori Incantatem which showed he last cast the unlocking spell

"Thank you Mr Potter please return to your potion" Severus said and headed back to his spot where he could watch all the students

The rest of the day passed and Ronald was not seen again; it was the following morning when he walked into the great hall. Blaise spotted him first and was choked by his pumpkin juice; someone whistled loudly

"Hey Baldy" a student called

Ronald had lost all his hair, including his eyebrows

"Merlin do you think he had an elf shine it before he came to breakfast?" Theo laughed

"He'll save a fortune on hair elixir" Astoria said and swung her own hair

"I can help you cut yours too" Daphne said threateningly

"Harry wouldn't like that, right Harry?" she pouted

"Come on Daph, Satan needs the hair to hide her horns" he teased

"Shame on you Harry Potter, how dare you take her side?" Astoria said and went to her first year friends

"Thank you, you didn't have to" Daphne said glad that her sister was gone from her friends

"Why does she get under your skin like that?"

"She's always been the favourite and she makes sure that I don't forget it" she said

"We'll your my favourite Greengrass" Harry said and poked her side "Come on let's get going, it's almost time for DADA with the Claws" he said and took the last piece of bacon off her plate

"I was saving that" she mumbled but followed him

They entered the classroom which was adorned with portraits of various animals

"Good morning everyone, I'm Newt Scamander. You may call me Professor Scamander, now let's get started shall we?" he said walking up and down the classroom "We will start with this little creature, can anyone tell me what it is?" he asked brightly, a few hands went up and Padma was chosen

"Yes Ms?"

"Padma Patil, it's a Doxy professor" she answered

"Correct 5 points to Ravenclaw" he smiled "Where can we typically find them?" he asked and the same hands went up. This time Terry was chosen

"Colder climates professor and typically in drapes or closets" he answered

"Also correct, another 5 points to Ravenclaw. Now getting rid of them has been made easier as we now have access to Doxycide but you may encounter them when you're unable to use Doxycide or do not have enough. So there is a simple spell we can use, the knockback jinx which Doxies are particularly vulnerable to" he explained

"Professor what about the Queens?" Hermione asked

"They can be dealt with the same way by exceptional wizards but the general public usually resorts to stunners" He answered "Good question. Now before we move on to the more practical part of this lesson. All creatures are innocent and should not be harmed if it can be helped" he said seriously

"Yes professor" everyone except Harry said

"Now the incantation is 'Flipendo' and this is the wand motion" he said demonstrating it to the class "Now I need a volunteer" he said brightly and watched all the hands go up except for Harry and Neville

"Fantastic" he smiled at the enthusiasm "Let's have you two" he said to Harry and Neville "Names?"

"Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom" Neville answered

"Alright let's have Mr Potter opening the cage and let out a single Doxy and Mr Longbottom you will demonstrate the spell" he said brightly

Harry opened the cage and watched the largest Doxy in the cage exit; he saw Hermione's face filled with shock. This was probably a Queen he thought and watched Neville go through the wand motions and say the spell and watched the Doxy fall to the ground

"Fantastic! You're quite powerful Mr Longbottom that was a Queen Doxy" he smiled and put the Doxy into an empty cage

The rest of the class was spent practicing on Doxies; when class ended they were given homework and sent off to History of magic.

Harry received his first summons from Severus at lunch when a first year delivered the parchment

 _Tonight at seven. My office_

He looked up to the Professors table and saw Severus nod; he wondered what they would start with. These thoughts filled his mind for the rest of the day until he walked through the door of his Potions Masters office.

The office was completely empty

"Were you robbed?" he joked

"No, we need the space and the privacy. Now let me explain what we're going to do" he said and conjured two chairs

"We're going to do a ritual; it will take approximately five years to complete" he paused "I know it's long but it will help with your task"

"I understand" Harry said

"Now we will start today and we will have to do this every three months. The ritual will have three effects; one it will expand your core by roughly ten percent every time, two it will make you more durable and three it will give you better control over your magic so that things like the incident with Ronald won't happen again" Severus said

"I had full control over that sir" Harry shrugged

"Then keep it out of my classroom" Severus admonished

"Yes Potions Master"

"Now let's get to it. I will draw the runes but I want you to watch this carefully because if anything were to happen to me you need to know how to do it" he said and started moving around the room and drawing runes on the wall and giving Harry instructions on how to do it.

"Now this potion gets poured onto the runes and it will absorb it" he said and started that process

"Just two or three drops?" Harry asked

"Yes except for the rune in the middle of the room. Then you need to put a drop of blood on that" He said and led Harry to it

"What happens when I do that?"

"It will pull on your magic and activate the runes. You will feel drained so I suggest you do these rituals at night before you go sleep"

"Okay, will we keep doing it here?" Harry asked

"No I will find a class to use that Dumbledore can't find" Severus said

"Okay let's do it then" he said and pierced his finger and put a drop of blood on the centred rune. He immediately felt the pull on his magic and instantly felt tired

"On average it should take a day to recover but with your deal I think you should feel better in the morning. I'd like you to come and see me before you go to breakfast"

"Yes sir"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN- Wow it feels like it's been forever since I sat down to write. I apologise for the delay in writing and posting this chapter. This chapter fought me, life got in the way, I lost inspiration. But good news, I'm back! I hope**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 21 – Little Dragon**

He moved down the corridors quickly making sure that no one spotted him; it was well into dinner but he still needed to be careful. He had been planning this for the last two months; Halloween would be sure to be remembered.

He checked the bathroom entrance and then went inside

"Hello?" A girl's voice came "Is someone there?"

He stood silently in the shadows and waited for her to leave; then she floated through the door. This was why the girls never really used this bathroom

"I know someone is here" she said

He knew he should have learned how to cast an invisibility spell

"Okay fine!" she shouted and dove down the drain pipe

"Weird ghost" he said to himself and then stepped up to the sink and opened the journal, he would not call it a diary. He closed his eyes and pressed the journal to his face. Yes this Halloween would be remembered; he felt his magic being pulled into the diary and then heard a voice say something in a hiss. The sink dropped into the floor revealing a stair case

' _Go in'_ appeared in the diary

He walked down the stairs and heard the sink move back into place; he walked down the tunnels following a hiss which grew louder as he got closer. He was losing patience when the tunnel opened to reveal a large hall decorated in green and silver, the statues along the wall were all in the form of Salazar Slytherin or snakes. He had found it; The Chamber of Secrets, the key to destroying the mudblood and half-blood traitors. He ran his hand through his blonde hair; surely father would be pleased with his progress.

He moved around the room looking for anything that may be of use but only found a basilisk skin and a few candles which had died a long time ago, they surrounded what looked like a rune circle. He drew the circle as best as he could in the diary and waited for a response

' _Put some blood on the out edge and stand within the circle, it will make you stronger and more durable. This will help with our task_ ' appeared on the pages

He followed the directions and as soon as his blood hit the outer circle of the runes the candles lit up. He passed out

Harry sat in the great hall between Padma and Hermione who were explaining the new spells they were learning from Madam Pomfrey.

"So she isn't teaching us anything serious yet, but she showed us a few diagnostic spells and helped us perfect our minor injuries healing spell" Hermione said "The one you showed us but she says that it's rather useless unless it is cast by a powerful wizard"

"And how are the potion lessons with Professor Snape going?" Neville asked

"I think you'd find that bit interesting, he told us that first we needed to understand plants more thoroughly so we'll be spending our lesson times with Professor Sprout" Padma said to Neville

"I wonder if we could get a more advanced spell book from Professor Snape since we've all mastered the advanced shield and all the offensive spells" Harry said thinking out loud

"I'm sure we could, we should work on learning more spells before working on chaining them together" Neville responded

"Well right now we know; blasting curse, banishing charm, that cool ice spike one, the fire ball curse and the cutting curse. Then there are the more playground jinxes and charms like the leg locking jinx and the tripping jinx so maybe those are enough to start learning how to chain them together"

"Can we enjoy Halloween without having to worry about you guys talking about studies?" Blaise whined

"Okay Blaise, here have a pumpkin pie" Hermione said and shoved a slice in the boys mouth causing all their friends to laugh

"Let's go to our room and chill there instead? I hate sitting at these tables separated like this" Harry said "And I have something to share with you guys" he smiled

The group walked through the halls until they reached their practice room

"So what did you want to show us Harry?" Padma asked

"Okay guys, so Theo and I were having discussions with his father regarding magical tattoos and linking them so that we can communicate through them or something along those lines. He advised that the spell to get the tattoo was simple but infusing it with spells was the difficult part" Harry explained

"And Harry decided to research it" Theo said to the group

"What I found was that getting tattoos is a simple procedure and I can cast the spell" he said revealing his left forearm

"There of all places?" Theo asked

"It felt like the best place" Harry shrugged

"Something you want to share?" Parvati asked

"No, just a thought" Theo said "Continue please Harry"

"Yes well infusing the spells is going to take some time since I need to figure out which spells we need but after that I will transfer the tattoo onto everyone. It's the simplest way to go since I'll only have to infuse one tattoo and then transfer it"

"How painful is the process?" Hermione asked

"Not at all actually, it's draining for the caster but the transferring should take no longer than a few minutes. So you guys will have about two weeks to decide if you want to take the tattoo"

"Will it be exactly like yours? And what is that mark?" Padma asked

"Yes it will be, as you can see it's about the size of the small inkwell so not too big. The mark is the sign of the Deathly Hallows, a few wizards have used it before. The triangle represents the invisibility cloak of death, the circle represents the resurrection stone and the line represents the elder wand" Harry said

"I didn't expect you to know the story of the three brothers" Astoria said "Weren't you raised by muggles?"

"I was, but the story shows us that our choices have consequences and we need to think on them carefully. So I hope whenever you look at the mark you think about that"

"Is there anything else? Can it be removed?" Justin asked

"No, or rather not after I infuse spells into it. That's why I'm telling you about it before we all get the tattoo. I can colour it too by the way, I just prefer this dark green colour being Slytherin and all"

"I'm in" Astoria said

"Well we probably should ask our parents" Hermione said

"It's my arm, my mother will just have to understand that" Blaise said "Maybe colour mine silver though?" he smiled at Harry

"Take the two weeks. We'll gather here then to make our decisions" Harry said and threw himself onto one of the couches they had in the room. The group broke up into the mini groups and carried on separate conversations, Theo dragged his chair over to Harry

"Father will be impressed" he said "No loyalty charm?"

"I'm uncertain if that's the route I want to go down" Harry said looking at Justin talking to Susan "But I fear it might be necessary, grab Neville and Blaise and meet me outside" he said and got up and made his way over to Daphne

"Keep them all distracted please? I need to talk to Neville, Blaise and Theo" he asked and she simply nodded

Once the four boys were in the hall Harry started walking urging them to follow him

"I don't want to use loyalty charms but Justin worries me, if we let him go now we can always claim we didn't learn how to infuse spells and they're simply tattoos" Harry explained

"Personally I don't mind the loyalty charm, you can break it if your will is strong enough and you have the capacity for pain. I say charm that tattoo with the strongest charm and let the idiot deal with it" Theo said "If he is here for Susan then let him deal with it but if he is here to achieve our goals then it won't make a difference"

"What are our goals exactly? I'm on board with pretty much anything but I'd like to know, I know Professor Snape is involved which makes me even more comfortable with the entire scheme" Blaise asked

"I want to be powerful but being powerful alone doesn't change the world. Look at the people who tried that approach, they failed. Even Voldemort with his Death Eaters failed because he looked out for himself first, he made himself powerful and relied on numbers with a small group of skilled fighters and an even smaller group of truly talented and powerful allies. Do I have a few nefarious goals? Yes I do, only one actually."

"Any chance you'd like to share that goal with us?" Neville asked

"No Nev, that cross is mine to bear" Harry smiled

"So what charms are you planning on infusing into the tattoo?" Blaise asked "Now that we have decided on the loyalty charm"

"There are a few actually; a durability charm, loyalty charm, communication charm which is one way only and only transfers intent but you'll get the message, possibly a concealing charm since some people are concerned about the location and the look, a connection charm which allows the tattoos to be linked and enables the communication"

"Have you figured out all of them? Do you want me to write father and ask for guidance?" Theo asked

"My mother is an enchanter so she may be able to help as well" Blaise offered

"No thank you, I have this covered. Let's head back" Harry said

The boys rounded the corner and collided with the rest of their group

"There's been an attack, Professor Snape found us in the room and sent us to our common rooms" Daphne explained "He said to get back there as quickly as possible"

"Okay, let's get back then. Stick together" Harry said to the group and then made his way back to the Slytherin common room

"What you're not going to go have a look?" Theo teased and Harry just laughed along with the rest of his friends

They arrived in the common room which was filled with the rest of the House

"Anyone know what happened?" a seventh year asked out loud "And where is Malfoy?"

"Who's asking?" Malfoy said entering the room looking exhausted and angry

Theo and Harry shared a look and then looked back at the blonde boy who took a seat by the fire and wrote in his journal

"Something is going on with him" Theo said

"Perhaps, it could be why your father warned us about him. Let's try and keep an eye on him." Harry said removing a journal from his bag and started taking down notes about everything he remembered about Draco this year, he was stopped when Severus walked into the room

"Mrs Norris was found petrified, the Headmaster is concerned about the creature. He has not stated that a curfew would be put into place but it is not far off so keep yourselves above any suspicion" he said and then turned to leave

"Notice how Malfoy completely ignored the announcement?" Daphne asked Harry to which he nodded

Things are getting interesting at Hogwarts once more, Harry thought. Maybe it was time to speed up his plans concerning the tattoos

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN- So I put off posting the previous chapter till I had this one done as well so I could treat you guys to two chapters on my return**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 22 – Plans, attacks and tattoos. All before Christmas**

Harry continued running around the Quidditch field for another lap as he thought about his tattoo situation; he had managed to infuse all the spells he wanted but was still holding off on the loyalty charm. Justin had in recent weeks shown that he was interested in Susan more openly but he had also kept the company of the heavy hitter group more frequently.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" Blaise asked having caught up to Harry and now continued running alongside him

"I have the tattoos figured out and since everyone is on board, I only have one reason to be holding back" he said as they neared the end

"Mr Finch-Fletchley?" Blaise asked

"Yeah, I can't get a proper read on him. So I'm going to go the loyalty charm route, but be warned it can be used to torture everyone connected if I choose to" Harry said seriously

"We'd have to give you a reason to, you're fair Harry. It's why Theo's dad trusts you and gives you his counsel"

"Fair point, let's get going then. I'll infuse the spell during my free period and then tonight we can mark everyone" he smiled

"One more thing, Daphne actually asked me to have a chat with you." Blaise said stopping short of the rest of the group

"Regarding?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow

"Defence against the dark arts" Blaise said

"He keeps talking about these dangerous creatures as if they're harmless Blaise. I agree that they should be respected but his methodology is going to put someone at risk, last week when those slugs got out of their cage and Tracy stepped on one he looked as if he could cast the killing curse"

"I get that, we all do. But you need to calm down mate, you're going to explode. At least he is better than Quirrell was" Blaise shrugged

"Barely" Harry said shaking his head "I'm guessing that you're talking to me now because we have the double defence after lunch and it's with the Lions?"

"Yeah, between Weasley and Professor Scamander you're a little fiery in those classes" Blaise said as they joined the rest of the group

"And the latest Weasley looking at him with love in her eyes" Pansy joked and imitated the redhead

"She looked like she would explode when Daphne and I flanked you at breakfast yesterday" Tracy laughed

"Come on, let's go have Harry admired by all the Weasleys" The said and led the group into the main doors

Harry found himself in his room in his free period before lunch, while he cast the loyalty charm he noticed the room getting darker. He knew it could only be one reason, Death.

"Hello Harry" he said politely

"Hi" Harry said acknowledging the Powers presence but not stopping his task

"Still mad about John then" the Power said with no real emotion "Understandable, Fate can be a real bitch and I fear John has not seen the last of her"

"She's going to lose eventually" Harry shrugged "I've given it some thought and the only time she really wins is when her goals line up with that of another Power and unfortunately for her not one of them can take a position against you, cause you're inevitable"

"Perceptive as always. But onto the reason I'm here, your tattoo idea" Death said waiting for the boy to give him undivided attention

"Done" Harry said and turned to the Power looking exhausted and then Death felt the pull of magic and saw the boy visibly recharge "Wow, it's easier and more powerful when you're closer"

"Yes I suppose it is, we will address the deal another time. What I want to propose to you is to bless your tattoo before you transfer it to your little army, at a cost of course." He seemed to grin behind that ever changing face

"What is the cost?" Harry asked

"I need a life to be taken, the when and where might be a little sketchy at the moment but will firm up soon and then it will be at a moment's notice. And yes it is a magical"

"What will Death's blessing do to the tattoo?" Harry asked weighing up the deal "And why haven't you decided to make me your servant yet?"

"No longer asking naïve questions anymore I see, John and Severus have done well. My blessing will make the enchantments stronger and will give only the caster the ability to remove the tattoo, it will also protect the tattoo so if anyone attempted removing it they would be facing pain equal to the power they put into the spell. It will increase the taint of my aura on yours every time you transfer the tattoo but the recipient won't be tainted" Death explained

"And why haven't you made me your servant yet, wouldn't it be more beneficial to you than having to strike bargains with me?" Harry pressed

Death seemed to sigh and the room grew colder

"It would, but you saw what just happened when your core refilled. I could feel the draw on my own strength. If you were my servant your core would expand and then we could face a problem, so what I gained versus what I would lose is imbalanced. Currently the advantage I hold over life is great enough to justify your refills but if you and Severus keep up your plans then I will have to undertake additional bargaining with you"

"How about I give up my refilling ability for your blessing?" Harry offered

"Can't stomach killing anymore? You know you still owe me a life Mr Potter"

"Which I fully intend to pay but I need you around for all my plans to succeed" Harry said

"I will accept your bargain and offer you the option to refill your core for the life" Death said

Harry seemed to laugh to himself, the Power wanted the kill more than he was concerned by the refilling

"Let's just stick to the deal you offered originally, either way our result remains the same. I owe you a kill but I can draw from your power" Harry said stretching his hand out to the Power

"Deal" Death said and shook the boys hand and the grabbed his arm and poured power into the tattoo

Harry woke to Daphne calling his name; he took in her facial features. They were marred with worry and grief

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately

"What's wrong?" she repeated "What's wrong!?" she shouted this time

Harry sat up and saw the rest of his Slytherin friends sit in the room

"We decided to come join you before we had to head for lunch and then we find you passed out on the floor. I've been sitting here trying to wake you for the last fifteen minutes and we ran every diagnostic test that we know on you" she said

"I'm sorry, the tattoo took a little more power than I expected" he lied "But it's ready to go now" he smiled

"Idiot" Daphne said and slapped his shoulder

Harry stood and walked to lunch with the rest of his friends but took a detour and sat with the Ravenclaws.

"Hey Harry, fancy meeting you here" Hermione smiled

"Her Hermione, how was charms?" he asked smiling

"It was interesting, Professor Flitwick lessons are always filled with information" she went on chatting about what they had covered and the best applications as Padma sat down beside Harry.

"Now I don't have to go to Charms tomorrow thanks Hermione" Harry joked

"Haha, you're so funny" she said sarcastically

"So my father wrote asking if you'd like to come over for Christmas?" Padma asked sensing her opportunity

"Can I let you know? I'm not too sure about all my Christmas plans yet and I don't know how much freedom I'll need or how much your parents will give me" he asked

"Your guardian really let you do whatever you felt like didn't he?" she asked laughing "I'm sure it will be okay if you take a few days to decide, he only wrote yesterday"

"Perfect, so have you decided on the colour of your tattoo yet?" he asked the Indian girl

"I'm going to go for a light pink I think, I'll bring a scarf along so that you can see the colour" she smiled

"Great, I have to get going now. I can feel that the youngest Weasley is staring at the back of my head" he said slightly annoyed

"How do you know?" Hermione asked impressed

"One, I have a sixth sense you could say and two, Theo and Tracy can't stop laughing and looking at me and then slightly behind me" he said pointing to the two Slytherins

"Enjoy defence" Padma said and gave him a hug "Stay calm" she whispered

"I'll try"

As he reached the end of the table Blaise and Daphne flanked him, they walked to class discussing Mrs Norris and what each of them thought was the cause of her being petrified. Once in class Harry took his seat in front and waited for the class to fill, Daphne was replaced by Theo as she preferred sitting with Tracy and Pansy.

"Good day class, today we will be dealing with Murtlap's" he said and took the cover off the cage on his desk, immediately he dove into an explanation into the uses for the creature and how they weren't dangerous

 _Will we learn anything besides creatures?_

Harry wrote in his notes and nudged Blaise

 _Their uses?_

He wrote causing Harry to laugh

"Something else more interesting Mr Potter?" the Professor asked "I understand you have no desire to be in this class but as it is mandatory you don't have a choice but to listen"

"To answer your question Professor a number of things are more interesting than your shaved rabbit" he said in his most acidic tone

"Five points from Slytherin" the Professor said clearly having taken offense

"Professor when will we learn more defence oriented material? I feel like we're sitting in Care of Magical creatures, not a single creature you've shown us is considered dark" he asked

"I can't bring a Chimaera into the school Mr Potter" he replied sounding genuinely saddened by the fact

"What about a boggart Professor? Or more interesting reading? Werewolves, Chimaeras and Vampires?" he said listing the most common dark and dangerous creatures "We don't have to actually see them but we should learn to defend ourselves from them"

"This is second year Mr Potter, what second year would be expected to defeat a werewolf?" he asked

"Instead we turn the most interesting subject Hogwarts offers into a petting zoo?" Harry quipped

"Another five points from Slytherin Mr Potter, these creatures are to be respected" he said and turned his back. Harry rubbed his knives holster on his forearm, couldn't this be the magical target? The man was so annoying

Harry sat looking out the window until class ended and then he left while the rest of the class continued packing up. He noticed Draco leave behind him but paid the blonde no attention, he had something to do. He rounded the corner and then he was facing his Potions Master's office door and knocked

"Come in"

Harry entered the office and noticed the man looked tired

"Mr Potter, what brings you here just before dinner?"

"Severus, could you read through these" he said and passed his defence notes to the Professor

The man took the parchment and started reading through each one, he tried figuring out what he was supposed to be seeing

"Why are you showing me your Care of Magical creatures notes Harry?" he asked

"This is my defence notes. This can't become an annual complaint Severus" he said exasperated

"Why is no one else complaining? There is not a single dark creature being taught" he said leaning back in his chair

"They all feel I'm being too impatient but it's been almost ten weeks and we've only been covering these useless creatures. It doesn't help that the timetable constantly changes who we have class with. The idiot Gryffindors seem to love this new easy approach to defence"

"I will have a word with the Professor, maybe even host a duelling class if it doesn't get any better" he said to the boy

"Thanks Professor, onto other topics. I may need to leave the Castle on Death's orders sometime soon and I finished the tattoos" he said proudly lifting his sleeve

"Good job, anything other than what we spoke of infused into the tattoo?" he said running scans on the forearm

"Death's blessing" he said "The reason I'll need to leave the Castle"

"Very well, come and see me when you need to go and I'll help you get out. But for now you should get to dinner and please sit with your house for a change." He smiled at the boy

Sitting between Daphne and Theo was always fun, Daphne always start talking about the different kinds of knots there were until Theo lost his temper. She would throw in his full name and then claim it was a really easy one which was usually his breaking point

"If you say my name Greengrass I will throw something at you" he warned

"But it's such a useless knot" she commented "Well the second most useless"

The group burst into laughter, everyone except Theo. Their laughter was cut short when Filch came running into the hall. Dumbledore stood and approached his podium

"Heads of house and prefects please escort the students to the common rooms, Head boy and girl please go with Mr Filch and round up any students not here. A student has been found dead"

 **AN – There we go, I decided to cut this chapter here. I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 23 – Escape from Hogwarts**

Harry sat in his room looking at all his friends, after all the commotion about the young lion dying he had added reason to give them the tattoo, fortunately they had all taken the tattoo and none of them had noticed the loyalty charm.

"Okay it's time" he said and took off his robes so he was standing in his training gear "Neville, Blaise, Justin and Terry against Theo and me"

"Rules are as follows; nothing lethal and if one of the healers calls your name then you're out. They do need to be able to heal you"

"Padma and Hermione will be the judges and will be making notes" Harry said "With the durability charm you'll be able to take more damage than you previously thought so let the healers make the call on when you can't continue, understand?"

The boys places the protective ward stones provided to them by Professor Snape around the girls and took their positions

"Go" Hermione shouted

Terry cast rapid fire stunners and occasionally threw in a blasting curse between, he aimed slightly wide of Harry and Theo who were forced close together as Neville and Blaise cast ice spike interspersed between their own blasting curse. Justin kept casting tripping jinxes at the pair. The four boys smiled knowing they had the pair trapped but then Harry let off an extremely powerful banishing charm and then let loose two knives at Neville which the boy just side stepped.

Theo immediately started casting a chain of ice spikes, blasting curse, tripping jinx, and fire ball curse and finished it off with an incarceration curse. He didn't use precision but rather went for power causing the four to scatter, Justin moved head first into Harry's stunner/incarceration combo. Neville turned to revive Justin and received three knives to his wand arm and then a fist to the jaw, a kick to the knee which by the pop that could be heard was broken and then a stunner.

Theo had managed to land his blasting curse which hit Terry and threw him into Blaise just as the stunner left his wand and hit Harry square in the face. Theo quickly stunned Terry and Blaise before they could stand and revived his partner.

"Ladies please go ahead and perform your healing spells" Harry said to the healer group. He watched Padma take the lead and instruct Hermione and Daphne to work on Neville, Tracy and Susan checked on Terry and Blaise while Astoria and Pansy were assigned to Theo and Justin.

"I guess that puts you into my care Mr Potter" the Indian girl smiled

"So sneaky Ms Patil" he grinned and let her perform her scans and write down her findings

"You still have to answer my father" she said stowing her wand

"I know, I'm not delaying it purposefully. I'd love to spend Christmas with your family but I have one plan to firm up and then I'll let you know okay. If it doesn't happen by tomorrow I will have to regretfully decline" he said standing and putting his robes back on

"Let's hope your _'plans'_ firm up soon" she smiled

"Hoping for Death" he chuckled quietly to himself

Once everyone was healed Harry gathered them all around and gave Hermione and Padma the floor.

"So Theo and Harry let's start with you, you wait too long to attack. If you look at any of the accounts of battles you'll notice some wizards start attacking before their feet have even hit the ground after apparition. You let the others get an advantage over you by forcing you close together and restricting your movement" Padma said

"And against stronger opponents you would have been put down quicker. Your power is the only reason you could escape Harry, after you engaged though you were formidable but not a team. Both of you didn't attack as a team but rather two separate fighters against a common foe" Hermione added

"Whereas the other four, Neville's team, worked perfectly together but fell apart as soon as their plan did. Neville let his focus be shifted to reviving a team mate when there was an active threat and Justin was not paying attention to the fight and was trying to dodge individual spells. Blaise and Terry were thrown off by Theo's wild casting which I think may have been his plan" Padma said looking at Theo who nodded

"Since we were outnumbered it seemed like a better plan" he added

"Not bad, but that directly cause Harry's defeat because you didn't pay attention to where he had moved." Hermione added

"Fair points, so what suggestions do you have Mione?" Theo asked

"Well firstly you all need to expand your learning, maybe focus on studying battles and duels and develop your own style from that. Secondly you need to develop your own spell repertoire because all six of you used the same spell and only Harry brought something different to the fight" Hermione said

"Well I guess it's time to write father then" Theo said to Harry

"Yeah and I'll speak to Potions Master Snape" he agreed

"So what do we do now?" Tracy asked

"Well the yoga group should be here and then we could do that until supper?" Terry shrugged "Since there isn't enough time before supper for a trip to the library"

"I'm going to head to Potions Master Snape" Harry said grabbing his bag "See you at supper"

He walked down the halls and noticed it was already getting dark in the hallways, winter was almost right upon them. He knocked on the Potions Master's door and received no reply, he opened the door and peered in and saw no one in the office. Taking a seat outside the door he waiting. An unfamiliar student came walking down the hall and sat down beside him

"Need something?" Harry said placing his hand on his wand

"It's time Mr Potter, your targets name is Ernest Young. He owns a bar in Knockturn Alley, he needs to die before sunrise and he is not allowed to be killed with magic. Those conditions are non-negotiable, failure will result in my blessing being torn from the tattoo and I don't think you want your little group of sixteen to lose their arms" the student grinned

"Got it, can I have the bars name and his picture?" Harry asked

"Here you go" the student said removing a photo from his robes. The photo showed a man standing in front of a bar called The Rusty Cauldron smiling proudly

"Does everyone want to drink at some Cauldron?" Harry asked but noticed the student had vanished. He waited till he head footsteps and looked up and saw his Potions Master walking down the hall

"Mr Potter" he said in his usual tone "What can I help you with?"

"It's time Professor, I need to go to Diagon Alley" he said

"That is easier than I thought this might be, you can use the Floo in my office. I need to head out of the Castle myself so we will Floo travel together in one trip so if anyone should check then it will appear as though the Floo was activated once"

"Makes sense, I will return here after supper and then we can leave?"

"Perfect, see you later Harry" he smiled at the boy

Harry took a seat at the Hufflepuff table with Neville and told him that he wouldn't be joining the evening training session and then moved to the Ravenclaw table and gave Padma the same message and told her that he would be joining her for Christmas, after she hugged him he moved to the Slytherin table.

"Finally joining us I see" Daphne said slightly coolly

"Just had to pass a message to Neville and Padma, I'm going to be with Potions Master Snape for the rest of the evening and if I'm too exhausted or hurt from training I'm going to go to the hospital wing okay?" he said to everyone close enough to hear

"I'll come along and keep you company Harry" Astoria smiled

"Calm down Satan, don't worry Harry I'll keep them in line" Theo said

"Thanks, maybe follow Hermione's advice and get collections together about previous fights, battles and duels?"

"Will do" Blaise and Theo said in unison and saluted causing everyone to laugh

"Remember that there may be Aurors at the school randomly to prevent another death happening so stay safe and above suspicion" he said seriously "Two deaths in two years doesn't make this feel like the safest place in the world." They all nodded clearly hearing the concern in his voice

Harry finished his meal and left the main and headed for the office of his mentor, they entered the Floo and soon he stood in the shadow of Diagon Alley. He slowly made his way to Knockturn Alley walked through the dark alley ways. He made mental notes of stores he would visit on another day. Working with John had helped Harry navigate the dark, no one seemed to notice that he was a child, in fact they didn't notice him at all.

He rounded a corner and saw the bar, it looked similar to a regular muggle establishment and laughter and music could be heard from inside its walls. He walked around the place and saw that it was a two storey building, he climbed the gutter pipe and slipped into an upstairs window. Once he was inside he noticed that the top floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom, but was filled with personal items which meant the owner lived above the bar.

He moved through the living quarters and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, he searched through drawers and found a false bottom in the desk situated in the main bedroom. Retrieving a knife from his sleeve and opened the draw and found a bag of galleons and a number of letters from someone threatening to murder the owner of the bar. Harry put the letters in a different draw and closed the false bottom drawer again

He waited in the shadows for the owner to finish up below, a few hours passed when Harry heard footsteps on the stairs and prepared to make the kill. The man stepped onto the top floor landing and made his way into the bathroom, a minute or two passed and then Harry heard the flush. Then he vanished downstairs again

"Damn" Harry muttered, this could be a long night. He took a seat in the smaller emptier bedroom and started meditating, going through all his mind clearing exercises and then sat completely still on the chair he had chosen. The hours passed slowly as he waited, he knew his head of house would wait for him outside the Leaky Cauldron so that they could travel together to Hogwarts no matter how long this job took.

He checked his watch and saw that it was about three in the morning and the noise had all but disappeared except for the sounds of someone cleaning the bar. He moved slowly to the main bedroom so that he didn't make a noise. The noise moved towards the stairs and then started ascending slowly, tiredly. Harry waited in the dark of the night as the man made his way into the room and started working on the buttons on his shirt.

Stepping closer to the man Harry pulled his blade and then drove it solidly into his victim's spine quickly drawing another blade to cut his throat. He watched the man fall to the floor and then removed the knives and left the building the same way he had entered and found Severus waiting as he promised.

"Successful?" Severus asked

"Always" he grinned

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 24 – Relationships**

Sitting on the Hogwarts express in a cabin filled with sixteen other people had become confining to Harry, he ended up taking a walk up and down the train greeting various students he had come to know in his time at the school. The general spirit on the express was one of subdued excitement, the death of Colin Creevey had hit the school harder than anyone thought it would, partially because the cause was unknown and even the Aurors could not unravel the mystery. The muggleborn boy with a penchant for taking photos had epitomised the muggleborn experience, he was filled with wonder and undertook each magical task with the utmost dedication to mastering the skill.

His death had changed the experience for all those like him, they were quieter in classes and made their presence less known. The phrase "The nail that sticks out gets hammered" firmly rooted in the front of their minds. Fear and excitement packed into a single train, filling every compartment so much that it was palpable

Theo found Harry in an empty compartment staring out the window, he took his seat across his best friend and looked at the dark haired boy. Theo knew Harry was so much more than he let them see, Theo had seen how Harry dealt with the troll and he saw how his friend absorbed information immediately making a call on what was important and committed to memory and what was useless and forgotten. He was not emotionless though, he cared deeply for those around him and he was viciously protective over their group. Theo knew he had weak points like any other human being, Merlin he had seen the effect of Harry losing his guardian, but he seemed to be something more than just a simple human. He had something that made you want to follow him into battle and that was before the tattoos Theo was sure. He had written to his father about picking sides in first year and told his father that Harry Potter was the correct choice

"Everything okay Harry?" Theo asked

"I suppose it is Theo, I've just been thinking how much life can change when you least expect it. I grew up with the worst kind of muggles, wearing disgusting second-hand clothing. Everything was my fault and the fault of my parents who I never got a chance to know. And then all of a sudden I was whisked away and I was being trained by a master assassin" Harry said looking at his best friend who nodded for him to continue

"You see he told me that he wouldn't be my father or my guardian, he would be my trainer and my mentor and with him I found a home like no other but filled with everything I longed for. He told me that he was proud of me and that I had done a good job, he turned a scared… No terrified eight year old into a confident and resourceful person. Then I come to Hogwarts and I make such a mixed group of friends who makes me realise what I missed growing up the way I did. A group made up of all four houses, unheard of according to Professor Snape and now there's something threatening that"

"Well two things Harry the mysterious killing of Colin Creevey and Draco Malfoy" Theo said

"One thing Theo, yesterday when I was with Professor Snape I spent a large portion meditating and thinking about the facts we have. Malfoy comes back to school, he is more cunning and definitely getting help from someone who knows the school very well. He ditches Crabbe and Goyle and he vanishes for hours at a time"

"You vanish for hours at a time too Harry" Theo said shrugging

"But I don't appear looking ragged without an excuse and I definitely don't appear looking both horrified and pleased. Something is happening to him and it's causing the killings, if only I could get my hands on that damn journal he seems to be glued to. A large part of my suspicion comes from the fact in most rituals a large amount of blood is required or a large amount of magic is required and Draco Malfoy seems to be giving a lot of both recently and it is not the Hogwarts curriculum draining him Theo" he said to his friend

"We should keep a closer eye on him then?" Theo offered

"Let's enjoy Christmas and I'll write Blaise and Neville about it and we can all come up with something by the time we're back?"

"Sounds like a good idea but we should get back before Daphne comes looking for you or before Padma thinks you're having second thoughts about spending time with her family" Theo said and got to his feet

"Yes wouldn't want an angry Daphne, though it seems to be her default setting towards me these days" Harry joked

"I'm sure she'll come around"

They re-joined their friends who were all discussing where they would be for Christmas and what they hoped for. The train slowed and soon they were on the platform, after saying a quick hello to the Nott's and Greengrass family he was dragged off to the Patil family

"Mom, dad this is Harry Potter" Padma said

"Hi Harry, we've heard a lot about you" Mrs Patil said in a very friendly tone

"Mr and Mrs Patil, it's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for letting me stay with you for the Christmas break" he smiled and extended his hand which was shook firmly by Padma's father

"Well Harry if Padma had her way you'd be moving into the house with us" he laughed when his daughter started blushing "Fortunately you won't have to be subjected to the rest of the family as we have decided to stay home this break"

"I'm sure it would be okay Mr Patil, I'm very grateful to be allowed to stay no matter how many family members are out to grill me" he smiled

"Ah brave, I'm surprised you're not a Gryffindor"

"You and everyone else dear, I believe that Rita Skeeter woman wrote an entire article about it. Though it seems that she hasn't written anything else recently" Mrs Patil said

"Very well, I think it's time we head home" Mr Patil said and grabbed Padma's trunk

Harry looked confused until he saw Parvati wave to him as she passed through the barrier with Lavender

"Parvati must be happy to be spending the holiday with Lavender" Harry mentioned

"Oh she is, you see my family has become very westernised but we're still not completely there. For me where we are is perfect but for Parvati it isn't. She wants more freedom like Lavender seems to have" Padma explained before they stepped into the Floo

Harry arrived in a home which was beautiful and colourful but had all the comforts that he had grown used to with John and he missed when he stayed at the Notts.

"Your home is really beautiful" he said to Padma

"Thank you Harry" Mrs Patil said smiling "Padma will show you to the guest room, and afterward we can go do some shopping"

"That would be perfect" he smiled, hopefully he could head down Knockturn

"I have to head back to work now, see you all later" Mr Patil said and kissed his wife and headed through the Floo once more

"What does your dad do?" Harry asked as he walked down the hall with Padma

"He actually works in the ministry in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, he manages the people dealing with permits relating to imports and exports" she explained

"What does that involve?" he asked interested as she opened the door to a room which looked plainer than the rest of the house

"I don't know the exact details but it's mostly which potions are allowed to be imported and who may import what exactly and the opposite as well. It's not an area that very interesting as they mostly follow the rules set out by the ICW and the Ministry itself" she explained

"What are you interested in?" Harry asked turning to face the witch

"Well I'd like to go into law, there are two Magical institutions that offer it in Britain or you could study it at the ICW but then you lose a lot of the Muggle side of things. So I've thought of doing a law degree at one of the Universities here in Britain instead and then interning at a Wizarding firm" she said "No one has ever asked me that outside my parents" she added

"That sounds very interesting Padma" he smiled "At least now I'll have a lawyer to defend me"

"You better not get into trouble Harry James Potter" she said seriously

"Then you'll have to stay by my side to make sure" he shrugged and gave her a hug causing her to blush

"Are you two ready to go?" Mrs Patil asked from down the hall

"Coming mom" Padma called back "Thanks for coming Harry, I hope you have a good time" she said giving him another hug

The shopping trip was completely different to any Harry had been to previously, he had been asked to get dress robes as well as they would be going to the Ministry's New Year's Ball. He had gotten quite an ensemble of clothing, all of it slightly more luxury than anything he owned before. Then they went to the Muggle side and repeated the process, when they returned home Harry decided to take a stroll through the garden even though the snow was starting to fall lightly

"Its quiet beautiful isn't it?" he heard Mr Patil say

"That it is sir, I wasn't aware that a garden could look so beautiful in the snow. The people I grew up with usually just covered their rose bushes during winter"

"Muggles I assume, a little magic goes a long way" he grinned at the boy

"Interesting use of magic" he said quite impressed

"So Harry, my daughter has taken a tattoo which I find very interesting. More so because I find you very interesting" he said very straightforwardly

"I don't know how to answer that sir, I like Padma and the tattoo will keep her safe and help her along if I've done everything properly. Which I'm sure I did"

"Yes yes. I done a few diagnostic spells on the tattoo, nothing too concerning except for that overpowered loyalty charm" he said watching Harry's reaction

"It won't affect her, she has quite a strong will. That specific charm was added for one person and one person only sir I can promise you that. I have goals that I would like to achieve and a teenage heartbreak can't be allowed to stand in the way" he said

"I see, this would be the Hufflepuff second year? Jason?"

"Justin"

"Yes Justin, I've heard he has magical strength but he is a follower. What is Padma?" he asked curiously

"Easily the leader of the Healer group, she is willing to adapt plans and she know the strengths of her team but she doesn't like the healing part of it even though she could do it with no difficulty. She has the potential to be a fighter but not the inclination like I do" Harry answered thinking of every training session they had

"How is her defensive magic?" her father pressed

"She's doing well, she has a number of tricks that she helped me develop. Practice is all she needs, it what we all really need" Harry said

"Make sure she gets it Harry" the man said seriously

"I will do my best sir, I don't want any of them to get hurt" he said honestly

"I see what Theodore meant when he came to see me. Don't look so surprised, once the letters come home about who children are around parents usually try to form alliances with the favourable ones" he said smiling "Would you like to know what he said?"

"I would" he said

"He told me that after five minutes I'd forget I was talking to a twelve year old and he is right. He also told me about your previous guardian and his profession, though it was jarring at first I understand his comfort now" he said honestly "Let's get inside, I think Padma wouldn't be pleased if I used up all your time. I'd like to have a few more chats with you Harry maybe a game of chess or two" he said and threw an arm around the boy's shoulders

Christmas and New Years passed quickly for the family with their guest, Harry had been introduced to so many people at the New Year's ball and been offered business cards from most of them. Harry had seen Theo's parents there as well who said a polite greeting and thanked him for the tattoo and Theo's father wanted to know if Harry would spend the summer break with them working on a few interesting projects across the world. Harry readily agreed.

When the clock sounded the start of a new year Padma gave Harry a hug and he kissed her on the lips, the turning of the year was a time for being brave after all. She smiled brightly at him and held his hand for the rest of the evening.

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	25. Chapter 25

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 25 – Wands at the ready…**

Returning to Hogwarts seemed quicker as everyone caught up with one another and shared stories and souvenirs from their holidays. Harry holding Padma's hand did not go unnoticed by anyone in the cabin but no one commented about this new development. Theo told Harry that he had a plan for their problem but would wait till they were running to talk about it.

All too soon they found themselves back in the great hall having a welcoming back feast and under the watchful eye of Albus Dumbledore. Harry wondered how he would get closer to the headmaster, but he figured that he would have to wait for another time to achieve that goal.

"Welcome back students and staff, tomorrow we will be having a duelling class after supper. It will be run by Professors Flitwick and Snape" he said to an applause "All students are welcome. Now off to your common rooms and remember we have Aurors on the premises so don't go running around the school" The students filled out of the great hall obediently

The next day passed quickly and the halls and classrooms were filled with talk about the duelling classes that would take place. After supper the great hall was transformed into a duelling arena and then all the students were led back into the room.

"Now students it is important to note that duelling can be extremely dangerous and on the competition circuit there have been casualties. Etiquette is the second thing to note, Severus if you will" Flitwick said "Now what happens is both duellers walk into the arena and bow to the judge and then to one another, the judge will then count you in and then you will need to follow the rules that relate to the specific duel. Most duels last until one of the combatants cannot continue, less serious ones finish at first blood and others have a time limit"

"For our purposes we will operate on the rules that duel ends when the judge calls the duel. If you fire off a spell or curse after that you will lose 100 points and you will have detention with me" Severus said sternly "Now Professor Scamander has agreed to duel with me and Professor Flitwick will be the judge" Severus pointed to the man at the door of the hall

The two Professors bowed to the diminutive Professor and then to one another, "Three two one go" said Flitwick and then the spells started flying. The defence professor took a defensive position as Severus started firing off multiple spells and kept advancing. Eventually the shield that Professor Scamander had up failed and then a stunner hit him square in the chest, Harry grinned at Severus. He was here to prove a point and he did it with resounding success, he might have been a potions prodigy but the Dark Arts held an even greater allure for Severus Snape

"Great job Severus" Flitwick said reviving the fallen professor "Now each of you please pick a student so that they can have a go"

"Weasley get up here" Professor Scamander said irritated that he was humiliated by Severus

"It might be prudent to use a first name Scamander, there are far too many Weasleys here" Severus said sarcastically

"Ronald Weasley" he said and Ronald came up proudly. Severus looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow ever so slightly which caused Harry to shrug

"Mr Potter if you will" Severus offered, Harry slid his knife holster off his forearm and handed it to Padma and made his way onto the stage

"Now boys, you saw the professors" Flitwick said and both boys bowed to him and then to one another

"Three two one go"

Harry fired off a banishing charm at Ronald and shattered the boys shield blowing him backward. Ronald stood up quickly and fired off stunners at Harry who simply shielded them, taking a note from Severus, Ronald kept firing stunners in quick succession at Harry's shield hoping to break through. Harry dropped his shield and simply side stepped the stunner and then fired off an underpowered fire ball which singed Ronald eyebrows causing the hall to laugh.

Newt helped the redhead by whispering a spell for the boy to use

"Serpensortia" he shouted and a large black mamba came flying from his wand and landed in front of Harry

" _Beautiful_ " Harry said

" _Thanks, did you summon me?_ " the snake asked

" _No, how do I understand you?_ " Harry said noticing that the hall had gone dead quiet

" _You are a speaker_ " the snake said slithering close

" _Do not bite me, or anyone here in fact_ " Harry said allowing the snake to slither up his arm " _Would you like to be mine?_ "

" _I'd like to be free_ " the snake said " _But being with a speaker could be okay I guess_ "

Harry laughed and nearly missed the stunner but side stepped it in time. Harry decided that it was time to end the charade and fired off a massively overpowered stunner, one he was sure would break even Neville's shield and watched the hit the redhead in the chest

"Well done Mr Potter and a Parselmouth as well, why didn't you tell us? A true Slytherin" Professor Snape said proudly

"I didn't know I could speak to snakes until right now" he said surprised there was a name for it

"He's evil, I'm glad he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. Dirty snake!" Ronald spat

"I thought we were supposed to be best friends Ron" Harry said smirking causing all the Slytherins to laugh. Ronald was dragged off by his brothers and the rest of duelling class resumed

"May I have my knives" he asked Padma as he took his seat

"What knives, I only have mine" she smiled and rolled up her sleeve revealing the holster now attached to her arm

"Who knew Ravenclaws were so sneaky?" he sighed dramatically

"Who knew Slytherins were so gullible" she laughed causing Harry to smile

"Harry I don't think the headmaster would appreciate you letting your knives lay around" Daphne said

"Yeah I suppose she's right Harry" Padma said and slid the holster off and hand it back to him.

The class ended with everyone happy to have had a proper defence lesson for a change

"Uhm Harry maybe you want to vanish the mamba?" Theo said "Slightly freaked out here"

"Maybe I should take him down to the forbidden forest?" Harry said "Care to join me Ms Patil?"

"Alright but you need to take me to my common room afterwards"

They left the rest of the group behind and walked out the main doors, Theo led the rest of the group to the room to practice shields. Neville had the best technique for casting a shield so he proceeded to teach those who were struggling. The door to the room burst open revealing a pale Severus Snape

"Get to your common rooms now, another student has been found dead" he said "Where's Potter and Ms Patil, Padma?"

"They took the mamba to the forbidden forest and they were going to the Ravenclaw common room Professor" Blaise answered

"Very well, to your common rooms" he said and left

"They'll close the school now for sure, my father said the last time a student died Hogwarts was on the verge of being closed. Now there's been two, they can't leave us here" Theo said as they entered their common room

They sat in the common room waiting for Harry to get back, the door opened a number of times causing the conversation to pause and check who arrived. It was almost a half an hour later when he came into the common room looking slightly perturbed

"Harry!" Daphne said spotting him enter behind some seventh years "What happened?"

"I saw the scene of the crime, they've been hiding things from us. There was a message on the wall. It said 'Think you can ignore me old fool, I will take all the blood traitors and mudbloods down and you will be powerless' and then I heard the Auror say that the previous message was 'Enemies of the heir beware. Slytherin, greatest of the four will rise again'" Harry said

"Who else saw the scene? Only the Professors saw the first two" Tracy asked

"About thirty students I would say. There was a crowd but not too large" he answered taking a seat

"Who died Harry?" Pansy asked

"The Weasley girl, she was mutilated. And they couldn't find her wand either" he said and immediately the mood changed

"Harry you better watch out, Ronald will be coming for you now. He'll think it was revenge or something like that" Theo said

"Why would he think that?" Harry asked

"Cause you're a Parselmouth, only a decedent of Salazar Slytherin can speak Parseltongue" Daphne explained

"Mr Potter, with me please" Professor Snape called from the entrance

"Yes sir"

Together they walked to the headmaster's office; once they entered Harry faced a barrage of questions regarding his whereabouts and his wand. This was going to be a long night

Draco woke in the chamber with his robes soaked and his head throbbing and his hands and robes covered in blood. 'Not again' he thought, he had to put his plan into motion at the next full moon or else he risked losing himself. He forced himself to his feet and walked over to the desk he had in the chamber and noticed that his ritual had been changed 'Tom' he thought

"You think you can beat me Tom, you will be your own downfall" he said into the empty chamber

He removed a piece of parchment from his bag and opened it on the table; Tom had given him an idea to absorb magical power from another and that set him on the path to figuring out how to absorb power from the journal

He had found it over Christmas in his father's study, he would be powerful beyond measure and all it would cost was a soul and he was sure there was one in that diary. It picked up when a revealing spell was cast, he had tested it multiple times. He might not be the strongest but Draco Malfoy was a schemer, the best of schemers. He started drawing the first ritual circle and placed the diary in the middle of it and then started on the second. He read the instructions once more and checked his ritual circles again.

It was ready, two weeks until the next full moon and then he would find a second source of power.

It was about one in the morning when Harry crawled into bed, he was exhausted and didn't notice Draco enter a few minutes after him. He needed to watch out for Ronald, if the Professors thought he had done it then Ronald would be convinced of it. Right now he needed to focus on the redhead he thought as he drifted off to sleep

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review and favourite and follow.**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites. I hope you guys really enjoy this one, it's the beginning of something bigger that will conclude sometime in fourth of fifth year with a with consequences and opportunities**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 26 – Two weeks of Worry, Angst and all those other fun emotions**

Harry stood in front of the common room exit, he wasn't scared of the possible attacks; he was worried for his friends and he was worried about what awaited outside the door. He preferred the darkness and right now an extraordinary spotlight was being shone on him.

"You might as well go through the door" Theo said stepping next to him

"I guess" he said and walked out the door. Things were quite normal until they reached the great hall and all conversation stopped and all eyes were focused on him

"Let's go to our table" Theo said dragging him to the Slytherin table

Harry watched all his friends walked into the room and take their seats. Padma walked over to the Slytherin table and sat next to him

"Morning" she said and kissed Harry's cheek

"Morning Ms Patil, I can't tell you how glad I am you're not listening to the rumours" Harry said visibly relaxing

"Of course, I know you aren't capable of that" she said and dished some breakfast

Harry put his toast down and looked across the hall for the Weasleys but none of them were in the hall and neither was Draco. Harry picked up the newspaper and tried to distract himself; he read through the paper and saw that the suspect in the Rusty Cauldron murder had been found and arrested. They had blamed it on the owners squib brother who had been writing threatening letters over a period of time.

"Students" Albus Dumbledore called from the front of the hall "It saddens me to know that two students have passed on to their next adventure, the governing board and the ministry have decided to close the school. So going forward the school will be filled with Aurors, students are to be escorted between exam venues and their common rooms. Exams will be conducted next, classes are cancelled and all students are to gather in the great hall to study and the library collection will be transported here by the staff" he said sadly but sternly as about fifty Aurors stepped into the hall

"The Weasley family will return on Monday and we hope that everyone will do their best to make know that Hogwarts is still their home away from home. Now, Slytherin House you will be escorted first, Aurors please take them to the common room in the dungeons to collect their school work and have them back. Professor Snape will hand out timetables once in the common room"

The Slytherin table was escorted by thirty Aurors and Padma was forced to join her table, Harry walked in the middle of his group as not to bring attention to himself

"Don't hide boy it only makes you look guilty" an aging Auror with one eye told him as he limped along "And for good measure leave those knives in your trunk, Deaths aura already makes you look suspicious why add in more complications" he said dismissively

Once they arrived to the common room Severus handed out examination time tables and did a headcount.

"Where is Draco Malfoy?" he asked

"I'm here" the blonde said coming out of the dormitories "Has another mudblood died?" he sneered

"You missed an important announcement Mr Malfoy" one of the Aurors said "Come with me" he said and took the timetable from Severus

"Why should I?" he fired back

"Resisting only makes you look guilty Mr Malfoy just come along" Severus said and dragged the boy off with the Auror.

The rest of the day continued in this fashion, houses were escorted to the great hall where they spent the morning studying until lunch when they were escorted back to their common rooms which had been rearranged to serve lunch. Draco returned to the common room at lunch smirking

After lunch they were taken back to the great hall for practical lessons with their Professors limited to the tested material, no extra questions were allowed and no extra 'fun' facts were discussed. This was streamlined learning to get them ready for exams nearly three months earlier. Once the afternoon session was wrapped up they were confined to their common rooms for the rest of the day and ate supper there as well

The week ended up going on this way; slowly wearing down the Hogwarts students, Saturday arrived and everyone was looking forward to having a rest. Theo sat on his bed looking at the rest of the boys in the second year dorm; he looked over to Draco and his blood warded trunk, the blonde boy sat on the trunk going over some notes and mumbled to himself and then looked up and found Theo watching

"Something interesting you Nott?" he said and pulled his wand. Before Theo could answer the door swung open revealing Professor Snape

"Why aren't you up and dressed?" the professor asked them annoyed

"It's Saturday Professor" Crabbe said

"And you have exams on Monday, get up and get dressed and be in the common room in thirty minutes" he said and then left the room

When they were escorted into the great hall they noticed the entire school seemed exhausted and fed up with this new routine. Dumbledore stood at the front of the hall

"Good morning everyone" he said brightly "We have sent out letters to your parents advising that you will need to find alternative placement next year. We have advised the various magical institutions that will be able to take you. Furthermore Hogwarts will reopen once the ministry has had time to fit new safeguards, they have advise that we will take on new students once the current first years have completed seventh year" he said sounding more depressed as the announcement went on

The students split into groups and then started studying once more

"This can't be how Hogwarts ends" Blaise said "Maybe we should pass on our suspicions to the Headmaster?"

"They had Draco for an entire morning, if they didn't find anything then what could we provide. His journal seems to be missing as well and I'm more worried about the Weasleys returning on Monday" Harry said "Remember the prank war last year?"

"What could happen if we're kept here under surveillance?" Theo asked

"Theo don't be so naïve, look around. They're only here to make sure no one leaves, anyone wanting to make a move just needs the smallest opportunity" Harry said

"The same applies to Draco" Blaise said

"Okay let's go to Professor Snape and tell him everything we know" Harry said giving up with his friends

They walked to the front of the hall and found their head of house

"Professor could we have a moment?" Blaise asked

"Under a privacy charm please Professor?" Harry added

Severus cast a privacy charm

"Well?" he prompted

"We think Draco is behind the killings Professor, he may be using a journal to do it" Blaise said

"The entire year he has been different and he has been looking like he has been performing rituals, either giving blood or magic because he constantly looks exhausted" Harry added

"And the news of people dying didn't seem to bother him" Theo said as well

"Where is this journal now?" Severus asked

"Well we don't know, it could be in the blood warded trunk or hidden in the castle" Theo said

"Mr Nott the castle has many secrets and if Mr Malfoy wants to hide something we could search for years and not find it" he said

"But sir can't the Aurors give him veritaserum?" Blaise offered "We can't just let them close Hogwarts"

"We have questioned him extensively and we found nothing suspicious. He was rude but that is the Draco we've come to know and any further questioning would necessitate bringing his father in as well" Severus replied

"So he wins?" Theo asked

"For now, yes" Severus replied honestly

The spell was cancelled and the boys were sent back to the study area where no further discussion was had for the rest of the day. After supper they discussed where they would go the following year and most of the group settled on Beauxbatons

"I wonder what the rest of the group will choose? No doubt they're having the same discussion" Tracey said

"At least my French lessons will have been worth it" Daphne added

"You'll help us right?" Blaise asked

"I can speak French too" Pansy added "Going to marry a Malfoy remember most of his family comes from France"

"Me too" Harry said absentmindedly "The French part not the Malfoy marrying part"

"We'll now I really need to ask mother for lessons during our extended summer" Blaise said and started writing a letter

The weekend came to an end all too soon and then the exams kicked off; Harry had been kept far away from all the Weasleys so that there wouldn't be another scene. Severus acted as Harry's personal escort under Dumbledore's instruction, not that it would have been different if the old man hadn't suggested it. Every exam felt extremely difficult and every student had felt the three months of prep work that they currently lacked.

Harry spent his free moments watching Draco and Ronald; both boys were planning something and Harry was nervous as to what it possibly was. Draco seemed to be getting healthier every day, he was ramping up to something big whereas Ronald seemed to be looking paler each day, and he looked like a desperate man.

Two weeks of studying and examinations flew by and by the end of it; Draco Malfoy looked energised and ready to take on the world, Harry looked concerned about what might happen and what he'd be forced to do and Ronald looked horribly pale and filled with hatred. Harry was seated at the end of the Slytherin table when it happened, as Gryffindor was being escorted out of the hall a killing curse came flying across the hall. Harry fell backward to avoid the curse and saw Draco sneak out of the hall, he heard a horrified scream which stopped when he came back up.

Ronald was advancing on Harry wand in hand; the redhead managed to get three more killing curses off before an Auror managed to get through the Gryffindor crowd and tackle Ronald to the ground

"He killed her" the redhead shouted and cried "He killed her and you're just letting him sit among us"

"Are you okay Mr Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked

"No, I wasn't hit by his spell Professor but I need to speak to Potions Master Snape immediately" he said

"You'll need to stay here until we can take your statement Mr Potter" an Auror said

"Your culprit is getting away" Harry said seriously

"Mr Weasley is in custody" the Auror said simply "He won't be going anywhere"

"Blaise I need a powerful blasting curse to the bottom of the table immediately" Harry sent through the tattoo

"Draco?" Blaise asked

"NOW BLAISE!" he shouted through the connection and the boy held his forearm but cast the spell shortly after causing havoc and then Harry ran for all he was worth searching for Draco but couldn't see anything or hear anything.

"Fuck" he swore

"Looking for me Potter?" Draco said emerging from the girls' bathroom radiating power

Harry heard footsteps behind him and then they came to a halt

"Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy there had better be an excellent reason for this" Severus said sounding furious

"Potions Master now may not be the best time" Harry said grabbing his wand and a knife

"You should listen Severus, after all I can do this now" he said and waved his hand causing Severus to hold his forearm and drop to his knees

"How?" he asked eyes wide "He is dead"

"He is now" Draco laughed "He left his soul in a container and I just sacrificed that very soul in exchange for power and it seems control of his Death Eaters was an added bonus"

"And now for your favourite snake…"

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. Please review this one and let me know what you think, even if you're just a guest. Please go ahead and let me hear your thoughts**


	27. Chapter 27

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 27 – A rival**

"And now for your favourite snake…" Draco said but stopped when Aurors arrived on the scene

"Wands down" they called

"Well I guess you'll have some extra help Potter. You wondered what I was up to, let me show you" Draco said loudly "Ah lovely the Professors are here too" he smirked as McGonagall, Dumbledore and Flitwick appeared

"Mr Malfoy what is the meaning of this?" McGonagall asked

"You'll all die together, blood traitors, mudbloods and old fools" he laughed

"You were killing the students?" An Auror asked

"Of course" he smirked "Want to see how I done it? Here is my favourite snake. _Come my lovely"_ he hissed

"You're a Parseltongue?" McGonagall asked

"Uh Headmistress we have bigger problems" Newt Scamander said

Around the corner came a massive snake and Draco squeezed by it and then vanished down the hall behind the snake

"What a beautiful Basilisk" Newt said in awe "don't look at its eyes"

"Fawkes may be able to help" Dumbledore said and the bird appeared and attacked the snake and managed to blind it

"Headmaster stop your creature, it's hurting the basilisk" Newt shouted

"Mr Scamander we have lives to protect" Severus said getting to his feet "Aurors take another passage and get Mr Malfoy"

"We don't take orders from you Death Eater" a young Auror shouted

"Shut it" the one eyed Auror said "Do you have this Severus?"

"Yes Moody" Severus said and then the Aurors we're led down another passage to catch Draco

"Harry, knives" Severus said

"No you will not harm the creature" Newt said stepping in front of Harry but was hit with a stunner

"Sorry Professor but this is not your call" Harry said and took off down the hall taking knives from his holster. Severus conjured a table in front of Harry which he used as a spring board and landed on the creature and sunk two blades deeply into its hide and slid down the side

"Attack those wounds" Severus said

"What if we hit Mr Potter?" McGonagall asked worriedly

"Minerva the boy will dodge it I promise" Severus said confidently and started firing off curses at the creature.

Dumbledore conjured two stone blocks and trapped the creatures exit so it couldn't retreat while Flitwick joined Harry with a goblin blade. The duo managed quite a few gashes but even with its wounds being hit directly the creature could take a beating from the spells the Professors were using. Dumbledore used transfiguration to protect the blade wielding duo from being crushed by the basilisk as they were in close quarters

Eventually the snake collapsed and Harry stopped and fell to his knees breathing heavily and covered in blood

"Are you okay?" Severus stopped by his side

"It bit me" he said showing the older man his wound

"You'll be alright" Severus said unconvincingly

"You're a terrible liar" Harry chuckled and feinted

"Severus let Fawkes by" the Headmaster called. The bird cried onto Harry's wound and they watched as the poison was drained from the wound and it closed itself

"I think his body shut down to protect itself, I don't know when he was bit so it may have taken quite a toll on him already" Severus said casting various spells on Harry "He seems alright though"

"Get him to Madam Pomfrey Severus" Dumbledore said "We'll handle this snake and hopefully the Aurors caught Malfoy"

"Minerva please have return to the great hall and keep the students calm, Filius will you please help me levitate the snake into the forbidden forest where Hagrid will take care of it" Dumbledore said

The teachers all went their ways to sort the situation out; Severus levitated both Harry and Newt Scamander to the infirmary where they were put into Madam Pomfrey's care. He made his way onto the grounds where he saw Dumbledore and Flitwick reaching the edge of the forbidden forest and the Aurors making their way back to the castle

"Tell me you managed to apprehend him?" Severus asked

"No, we found traces of portkey travel and multiple apparition and disapparition" the one eyed Auror said

"Thanks Moody" Severus said and headed to the great hall. Surely Minerva could use some help and Severus needed a distraction.

Harry woke in an unfamiliar room and looked out the window and saw vast scorched fields, he couldn't find his wand or anything useful in the room. He opened the door and saw Death sitting in a chair looking out the window. The chair looked elegant and was the same shade of black that Death's cloak was, Harry sat in the chair next to the Power.

"I'm glad to see that I still can't see your face" Harry said "That's about where it ends isn't it? You made a deal with me for Voldemort's soul"

"That deal has been honoured Harry, Voldemort no longer lives. However Fate and Hate have outmanoeuvred me, Hate is stronger and Fate has hedged her bets. The advantage you enjoyed over everyone is gone now, she no longer wants you to be her only winner. She has selected another candidate, a candidate filled with hate and empowered by Hate. Though Dumbledore remains my objective and similarly yours I do fear that a new challenger has entered the game" Death explained

"Draco Malfoy?! Really?!" Harry said "He is spineless and weak"

"Or is he? He controls around 20 individuals all equal to Severus in skill and now has power equal to your own. He is untrained yes but he outmanoeuvred you and your group. You lost this round to him"

"I lost?" Harry said

"You're not unfamiliar with the concept Harry, you've just forgotten what it feels like and Draco Lucius Malfoy just served you a big loss. A complete victory, I'm not taunting you" the Power explained "Our situations are very similar, it has been a while since I've been bested"

"Regroup, rethink and try again I suppose. It's just another round of Harry hunting I lost" he said kicking himself mentally, he didn't want to be weak again

"I suppose, this however I think is the last time we speak for a while. I will leave you to make your decisions without my influence, just remember you owe me a life Harry" Death said standing

"Hogwarts is closing, how do I get close to him?" Harry asked

"You have missed about two weeks of events in the real world, not to worry though I'm sure you'll figure it out" and then he touched Harry's forehead causing him to gasp for air.

Daphne sat by Harry's side, it was her turn to watch him. Two weeks in no Gryffindor had approached the bed. The Weasleys had all withdrawn from Hogwarts after the incident with Ronald in the great Hall. Ronald had been taken into custody that evening with his case in court a week later, he had been sentenced to life in Azkaban within an hour. Not even Dumbledore speaking on behalf of the boy had lessened the punishment

Word about what happened that night after the attack on Harry had spread through the school, apparently a junior Auror had been leaking information to a seventh year in an attempt to impress a student, the student then passed on the information in an attempt to be the centre of attention. This all worked out lovely for Daphne as she finally understood what had happened to Harry and it helped Dumbledore's case to keep Hogwarts open, even though it came with concessions.

This was what played on her mind when she heard him gasp for air, his hand went to his left forearm and rubbed his tattoo once he took in his surroundings. He looked at Daphne who seemed to be a few kind words away from tears, he didn't need that right now.

"Daphne, could you get Blaise and Theo please?" he asked and she simply nodded

"Glad to see you're up Mr Potter" the medi witch said smiling "Not that you were ever in danger after Fawkes saved you"

"Very lucky I suppose Madam" he smiled

"All your scan are clear so you may leave whenever you feel up to it dear" she said and went back to her office. No sooner had her door closed when the main doors to the infirmary opened allowing Blaise and Theo through

"Finally done napping are we?" Theo said

"Yeah, fights with Basilisks are quite draining" he said humourlessly "Blaise I owe you an apology"

"I would agree but I know there was reason for it Harry, just try not to make it a habit. Remember I am your friend but I will always have questions but I should have picked up on the urgency" he shrugged

"Why don't you just snog already?" Theo said and punched Harry and Blaise

"I need you to be serious for a moment Theo" Harry said sighing, he understood what Theo was trying to do but now wasn't the time

"Sorry"

"No harm done. We have a real problem that we need to fix, we need to find a way to remove tattoos" he said "Not ours but ones almost exactly like it" he added

"And we need to find out what Draco is planning" Blaise added

"I know what he is planning. It's the same thing Grindelwald and Voldemort planned, we just need to be ready to take him on, he knows I'm a threat and he will fear Dumbledore so we have that advantage but he could return at any moment" Harry said "For now the tattoo's take priority, before summer ends I need to be able to remove it"

"Got it, who else are we putting onto this?" Blaise asked "Hermione and Padma are our best researchers but they'll need a magical library to search through. My mother's collection will help but it is not dark enough"

"I'll talk to my father and see if he can arrange for the group to spend a few weeks at the London house, it has the second best dark library" Theo said "Second only to your godfathers" he added smirking

"What is he on about?" Harry asked Blaise

"A lot has happened in your absence" Blaise explained "They found a suspicious item in Ronald's pocket, a rat which was giving off ridiculous amounts of magic. Which turned out to be an Animagus named Peter Pettigrew. They question him and he turns out to be responsible for your parent's death and a few others which Sirius Black had been blamed and sentenced to Azkaban for. So they imprison Pettigrew and free Black and he said that he doesn't care for his old job back, he just wants to get to know his godson Harry James Potter."

"Uh okay, let's say I buy that. What happened to Ronald?" Harry asked

"Sentenced to Azkaban for life" Theo said "The rest of the Weasleys have withdrawn from Hogwarts as well"

"Might as well, Beauxbatons costs nearly double what Hogwarts does. Even though they have half the children to send there are additional costs" Blaise countered

"I thought since they found the culprit Hogwarts would stay open?" Harry asked

"To quote our Potions Master when Daphne asked that question, don't be naïve" Theo said "Apparently the Ministry has struck a deal with Gringotts to have the castle inspected, dangerous aspects dealt with and new wards to be implemented. That will take a year according to the Goblins which means we go to Beauxbatons for third year"

"Those who can afford it, the French school doesn't have financial assistance like Hogwarts gets from the ministry which means they're more independent but more expensive. So maybe get Padma to help you choose fancier school robes Harry" Blaise said "Mother will be pleased, she was schooled in Italy and is accustomed to finer robes"

"Sure, what else happened while I was out?" Harry asked

"Padma and Daphne had a fight but they seem to have made up. No one knows what it was about though" Blaise reported "Maybe we should tell everyone you're up and running?"

"It's a few minutes before lunch, let's just meet them there instead?" Harry offered and got to his feet "When does the express leave?"

"Friday morning, oh you should probably go see Professor Snape. He has your results for the year, he has sent them on to Beauxbatons since we told him you'd be coming with us"

"That's alright" Harry said

"Think the French will be as exciting as fighting a Troll or a Basilisk?" Theo asked jokingly

"I hope not, all I ask for is one year without a creature attacking" Harry said

"On that note you might want to stay away from Professor Scamander. He is super pissed that you killed the snake" Blaise said "He has banned all of us from Care of Magical creatures when we return to Hogwarts"

"All of us bearing this?" Harry asked showing his tattoo

"Of course" Theo answered

"How is everyone?" Harry asked "I feel like I've missed out so much"

"You have" Blaise said "This place feels completely different"

They walked through the school and arrived at the great hall

"Harry!" shouted Padma and ran to him

"Hi" he smiled and hugged her "Missed me?"

"Of course you idiot. We all did, but fortunately I'll get to spend some of the summer with you. Father has written your godfather to ask that you visit and he agreed"

"Wait you weren't kidding?" Harry asked looking at Theo

"Hardly" Theo smiled "There he is actually" he pointed to the main table where an older version of one of Severus' tormentors stood smiling

"Great" Harry muttered

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it.**

 **How will Harry and Sirius get along considering his relationship Severus? Will Sirius be in on Harry's extra-curricular activities?**

 **As always I'm interested to read your reviews and theories as where the story goes to next and what has happened. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	28. Chapter 28

**AN- This one was supposed to be normal length but it got away from me and I really didn't want to split it so I kept it as is. Hope you guys enjoy it**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 28 – Control**

Harry sat on a bed in a London townhouse, Grimmauld Place was what his godfather had called it. It was a beautiful home and it felt filled with magic the same way Hogwarts did, it was probably do to the fact that this way the Black Family home for centuries after they moved closer to the city from an old manor. He had been here for three months; it was the official start of summer and about two weeks from his birthday

"Harry" the man called from down stairs

Harry got up and made his way downstairs; it was only another week he had to spend here then he'd be with the Notts. He checked his reflection in the mirror as he passed, his hair was getting long again.

"Yes Sirius?" he said walking into the kitchen

"Thought you might like to come along with me, I've been cleared to get a new wand and I'd like to pick up a few things at the stores. Clothing and the like" he grinned excitedly

"Yeah why not, might as well pick up my school supplies before I head to the Notts on Sunday. When do you want to leave?" Harry asked

"As soon as you're ready"

"We can leave then" Harry shrugged. They used the Floo and soon they were in the Leaky Cauldron. They took off into the muggle part of London first

"So how has your life been Harry? We haven't really spoken much in your time at Grimmauld" Sirius asked

"It's been quite the rollercoaster. There are a few things I can't tell you without a vow" Harry said seriously and saw the look on his godfathers face "I want to trust you Sirius, I've never had family. You say you want to be family and I really do believe you but I need time and preferably a vow"

"What could be so bad that it needs a vow?" Sirius asked

"There are a few things actually. Severus took a vow and after I told him everything he agreed that the vow was the best course of action" Harry answered

"You told Snivellus?"

"Don't call him that!" Harry said angrily

"If you knew what kind of a man he was you'd be calling him the same" Sirius shot back

"I know exactly what kind of a man he is. He showed me everything" Harry said now standing in the middle of the street

"He showed?" Sirius asked

"Pensieve, he showed me everything. The bullying, the name calling, taking that ugly mark, his betrayal, his mourning" Harry listed off "He is my mentor and as I get older I hope that I can call him a friend. So you will respect him if we are to have any sort of relationship"

"Wow, he really has you fooled. He can't be trusted, he served Voldemort" Sirius said

Harry gave the man one last look and then took off down the street walking at a steady pace until he reached the Leaky Cauldron once more. He Floo'd to Grimmauld and went upstairs to gather his things; he had shrunk his trunk and was on his way back down when Sirius found him

"Where are you going?" he demanded

"Somewhere other than here" Harry said and made to go around Sirius

"You're my godson, you stay where I say" Sirius said

"Couldn't say much all the way from Azkaban" Harry said sneering "Did you even think of me that night you went for Pettigrew? Did you even think?" Harry added

"I'm sorry Harry I just don't like the idea that Sniv… Snape has his hooks in you. You're already in that awful house" Sirius said pleadingly

"Sirius stop before my capacity for forgiveness runs out" Harry said "You're just like that boy Ronald who tried to kill me. A proud lion that can imagine that I could be happy in the snake pit like you guys like to call it. By calling it an awful house you insult my friends and my mentor and most importantly me. I chose to be a snake"

"Just like I chose to be a lion I guess. Okay I'm sorry, I see your point but I don't like Snape. There's way too much bad blood between us for that relationship to be fixed but I guess I could keep it cordial" Sirius said

"Thank you but I would still like to leave" Harry said

"Where will you go?" Sirius asked giving up on the fight, the after effects of Azkaban still had him feeling very weak

"The Notts, they've given me unrestricted access to enter through their Floo" Harry said "Sirius you should spend some time recovering, I don't need a minder. I'm very capable and I'd rather be at the Notts working on my tasks. Go to the hospital and have them give you a check-up"

"Will that make our relationship better?" he asked hopefully

"Yes, that and the vow will go a long way in building a relationship"

"Alright then, what did Severus say as his vow?" Sirius asked

"He said 'I, Severus Snape, vow not to reveal any information given to me by Harry James Potter to anyone under any circumstances'" Harry answered

"Alright, once I have a proper wand I will make the vow" Sirius said readily

"Alright" Harry said and shook his head "One more question, how alike were you and my father?"

"Very, we were identical in behaviour I suppose" Sirius answered

"Alright then" Harry said and made his way down the stairs and through the Floo. He arrived at the Nott residence and heard laughs from the library. He rounded the corner and saw his friends there all with a book at hand and Theo laying on the floor with a few books on top of him. Harry waved his hand and the books went back to the shelves causing everyone to look to the door

"Mastered a new trick I see" Blaise said smiling at his friend

"Yeah, I've had some free time in prison" Harry said. He greeted the rest of the group and took a seat between Daphne and Padma "So how has the research been coming along?"

"We've found a few rituals about removing marks and tattoo and then some spells about removing them" Padma started

"But they all are limited to a single spell infused and the cases where there are multiple spells usually fail because the caster won't reveal which spells were used" Hermione added from the floor "It's an intent based spell to give the tattoo and with the caster not volunteering information most subjects die or lose their arms"

"Why do you want to remove our tattoos Harry?" Neville asked "Is there something wrong?"

"He doesn't want to" Nott senior said from the doorway. Harry took a moment to look at the man, he looked pale and sickly and his left arm was swollen and red

"He keeps calling doesn't he?" Harry asked

"And causing pain every time you don't respond" Nott senior finished

"Could you let us in on the conversation?" Padma asked

"This is what your leader wants to remove" Nott senior said and showed off his dark mark

"That's where you got the idea?" Justin asked "From he who must not be named?"

"Yes Justin and his moniker was Voldemort. But Draco controls the mark now" Theo said looking at the state of his father

"Does anyone know where Professor Snape is?" Harry asked

"At Hogwarts last we heard" Pansy said "Should we check in on him?"

"Please, I think I might have an idea." Harry said "Hermione, how much do you need to know about a tattoo to remove it?" Harry asked as Pansy and Blaise leaned into the Floo and called for Severus

"I don't know Harry" she answered

"What about replacing it?" Neville offered

"Wait!" Padma said "I saw something along those lines but it was written in Latin so I gave up because I can't read Latin"

"I can" Harry said and stood next to her "Let me have a look"

"How can you read Latin and speak French?" Theo asked

"Tutors" Harry said distractedly

"Professor Snape is in the same condition as your Mr Nott" Pansy said

"Tell him to get here now" Harry said "We need to go to the dungeons, Theo get your house elves to get us blood replenishing potions. Mr Nott sir, I'd like you to take my mark instead of the one you currently possess, I promise it comes with a lot less pain"

"Yes, I'll gladly accept it Harry. What do I need to do?"

"Not much actually" Harry said and turned back to the book "It seems that it doesn't matter how many I do at once it requires the same effort so we'll wait for our Potions Master"

"I'm here" the man said from the Floo looking considerably worse than Nott senior, Harry looked at Pansy and Blaise

"You said he looked the same" Harry said not believing his eyes

"I told them to do it Harry, now why do you need me here?" Severus said as the yoga group and Astoria came into the room

"What's going on?" Hannah asked Susan quietly as Harry explained what he wanted to do to Severus

"Harry is going to remove their dark marks and replace it with ours"

"Cool, can we help?" Astoria said taking Harry's arm

"You need to Satan" he smiled at the blonde girl as she grumbled about the nickname

"Okay here's the plan. We need three intertwined ritual circles drawn, they need to be carved into the stone; Blaise you're in charge of this with Hermione and Padma advising on the design. Theo, Terry, Neville and Justin please go ahead and help with that task." Harry said and watched his heavy hitters nod

"Next I'm going to stun the two dark mark wearing gentlemen with the oversized arms and put them on the outer circles with their arms laying in the middle circle, I will then cast my mark and then I'll pass out to try and fight for control against the mark, I don't know long that will take but all three of us will be losing blood from our orifices, I hope that means only our noses but I can't guarantee that. That's where the healers come in, you need to treat us once we wake up and no one is to touch us while we're busy, no matter what" he finished

"Ready to suffer a little more Severus?" Nott senior asked

"I've been ready to die for a long time Nott" he answered

"Alright, to the dungeons with those starting the ritual circles" and handed the book to Padma and gave her a kiss on the cheek

"You better be safe" she said and kissed him on the lips before he could reply

"Tracy, Susan, Pansy, Daphne and Satan you can get the house elf to get you anything else you think you might need to clean us up and heal us" he said and watched them go find the elf

"What can we do Harry?" Emily Davis asked

"You four yoga ladies can pack the books away I guess now that we've found the answer and then come join us in the dungeon" Harry smiled at her, he felt bad for the yoga group

Once everyone was in the dungeon and the prep was done Harry looked at the two older men

"Ready?" he asked

"Just do it already" Nott senior said

Harry fired off two stunners and arranged the men as needed and then sat in the middle circle

"Here goes nothing" he sighed, cast the spell and fell backward

Draco sat in a castle somewhere in Germany surrounded by all by two death eaters; he looked at the individuals amongst them. All lower level if his father's information held true, if he wanted more powerful warriors he needed those in Azkaban

He stood and started pacing

"Any ideas for Azkaban?" he asked

"No one has ever broken out of Azkaban let alone broke in" one of them said

"I don't care what anyone hasn't done before" Draco said and then fainted

He woke in an empty vast space, then he heard a crash and saw Harry land. As the second boy arrived the vastness became a white room and on the wall behind Harry appeared the sign of the Deathly hallows and behind Draco appeared the Dark mark.

"What did you do Potter?" Draco snarled

"I need control of Severus and Theodore Nott's dark marks Draco, now we fight and to the victor goes control" Harry said

"What if I refuse?" Draco asked

"Then I win, it's simple" Harry shrugged

"Avada Kedavra!" the blonde shouted forcing Harry to dodge and pull his wand

"I guess you choose to fight" Harry said and fired off a few ice spikes and a fireball

Draco dropped to his knees to dodge and then fired of three cutting curses and then a poisoned blade from behind his back

Harry used a knife of his own to knock the knife sideways; he threw all his knives at Draco and then cast a smoke cloud spell blurring the blonde's vision. Harry conjured an ice spear and threw it through the cloud and then started moving left and casting a chain of various fire curses he had mastered; fireball, flame snakes, flaming arrows and finished with a flame wave

Draco countered the flaming spells with water inspired equivalents, a water stream, water snakes and a water shield. He knew what Potter was doing, he was giving himself cover as he got closer so he could initiate hand to hand combat. Draco smirked, Potter had a surprise waiting for him when he burst through the water shield.

Harry summoned all his knives back and was rewarded with blood on all the knives; he holstered all but two and then burst through Draco's water shield and barely avoided the sword.

"Thought you were the only one who could play with blades Potter?" he smirked "Father has had me trained in swordsmanship since the age of five" he said and spun the blade in his hand

"Then stop talking and fight me" Harry said and approached the blonde again swinging high with his right which Draco ducked and brought the sword swinging upwards slashing across Harry's chest. Harry stepped backward and threw a knife at Draco who simply parried it with his sword. Harry took his wand out of his sleeve and cast a flame whip and managed to wrap it around Draco's sword and started pulling

"You'll have to do more than that" Draco said and flicked the sword sideways causing a stream of water to be summoned from the hilt of the blade extinguishing Harry's whip. Harry stepped back trying to lure Draco in but the blonde stood firmly routed to his spot

"If you want me, come and get me Potter" he taunted

"Padma I hope this works" he said quietly and cast the ice spell on himself and charged Draco

Draco side stepped Harry and thrust his blade into Harry's side with all the force he could muster. It happened so quickly, one moment he was stabbing Harry and the next his blade was lodged in an ice sculpture resembling Harry. Harry vaulted the statue and managed to lodge a blade into the blonde's head.

Draco woke laying on the table he was seated at earlier; he looked down at his robes and saw they were covered in blood and immediately his hand went to where Harry had stabbed him but he found no hole instead the blood had come from his eyes and nose

"What happened?" Lucius asked

"Potter" he said simply but angrily

Harry woke on the floor where he had sat down and watched the dark mark fade from Severus and be replaced by the Deathly Hallows sign

"Harry? Can we do our jobs now?" Daphne asked

"Yeah" he said "Check on them first" he said closing his eyes

"No you don't" Padma said "Tell us what happened while I check on you"

"I need some potions first" he said sitting up

"Here have these" Astoria said and scanned Harry "Seems like its only blood loss"

"I was going to do that next" Padma said sounding grumpy about it

"Should have been quicker I guess, want me to be your healer instead Harry?" Astoria smiled sweetly

"Not thanks Satan" he managed to grin

"Fine" Astoria said and walked off

"Everyone seems fine, except for the blood loss Harry" Hermione said

"Good, I guess it's time I come clean isn't it?" he asked

"Yes" multiple voices said

"Well the book explained how you'd be transported to a location where a battle for control would take place and that was partially what demanded the blood because it had to pull Draco unwillingly." Harry started

"And it worked?" Lavender asked

"That it did, somehow he arrived first but he was confused enough to allow me to land before he started attacking. Then we fought and I won"

"That was what took nearly an hour?" Daphne asked

"An hour? It felt like a few minutes" Harry asked shocked

"So what exactly happened in the fight?" Neville asked

"He is stronger and more talented than I thought" Harry started and then told them how the fight had gone.

"The ice spell worked" Padma asked shocked

"Yeah, I know you were speaking theoretically but I needed something to get close and he was outthinking me. Usually the people I fight are duller"

"I'm glad it worked then" she said and kissed his hand

"So what now" Terry asked

"Study, work hard and train" Harry shrugged "And go to school in France"

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	29. Chapter 29

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Time for…**

 **Chapter 29 – France**

Harry walked around the Greengrass family's France property; as their name suggested their property was covered in the greenest and best maintained grass Harry had ever seen. He walked barefoot over the grass thinking about everything that had happened over the summer and what it meant for his future.

The most complicated of them was Sirius; he had agreed to everything Harry had asked for so easily and so readily. It was foolish and reckless but endearing somehow to the teen; Sirius had been committed to St Mungo's for the following three months to get himself healed and then he would see Harry for Christmas. He promised that he would tell Sirius everything over the Christmas break but he didn't know if the man would be able to handle the tough facts about Harry's life and Harry wondered if Sirius could be another way to Dumbledore once they were back in England. Sirius could let it slip that he was worried about Harry and then Dumbledore would be asked to give Harry private lessons about the dangers of dark magic.

It wasn't a comfortable thought using Sirius but it was currently the best option

Harry looked forward to the French school more than anything, everything here seemed so beautiful. He wondered what the actual school looked like, he couldn't find anything in any books about how it was designed or where it was located. They had received their uniforms from the school; the boys had received three sets of grey pants, five light blue shirts, two navy waistcoats and a navy coat each whereas the girls received six sets of the light blue uniform. Harry could honestly say he was looking forward to seeing the girls in that uniform more often

Padma watched her boyfriend from the balcony of the room she shared with Hermione; he had impressed her with so much skill, he was powerful but intelligent as well, he was strong but so caring. She worried about the skills he didn't show them and the past he didn't talk about, she knew that Theo knew something but he wouldn't break Harry's confidence. She had spoken to her father about it before Harry came to them for the holidays and he advised Padma that she shouldn't ask questions she was prepared to hear the answers to

"Watching him again?" Daphne asked from behind her

"It's hard not to" Padma blushed "You should know"

"I do, so are you still sure about sharing him? I know I was a complete cow about you two getting together but I don't want to intrude or hurt your relationship" Daphne said

"If he shows interest first then yes, I can tell you really do care for him. It's also not an uncommon thing for a man to have more than one wife in the magical side of our family so I'm kind of used to the idea I guess"

"But what do you think what everyone else will say?" the blonde asked concerned

"What does it matter Daphne? My relatives will be giving me so much grief about dating a white boy from England when I could have a proper Indian wizard. Even though most of them are breaking the law by having more than one wife in India, my dating a white Englishman will seem more outlandish. And you know what I don't care, so if he does fall for you then you shouldn't care what anyone else says"

"Thanks Padma, I'm sorry again. I really don't want to be putting you in this position but…" she started

"But he is amazing and he saved you and he cares for you. I can see all of that, long before I made the decision to invite him to my parents' house. I only worry about Astoria, she keeps making these suggestive remarks" Padma said seeing Astoria walking down towards Harry

"I'll talk to her" Daphne said

"Don't, it will only encourage her" Padma said shaking her head

Harry saw the blonde come down the way in her sundress with her hair loose; she was just as beautiful as Daphne but she was much more out there than her sister. Daphne was quiet and very witty whereas Astoria was outgoing and direct in all her dealings. Both of them were kind and intelligent

"Good morning Harry" she smiled brightly and sat down next to him

"Good morning Tori" he smiled "You're looking very pretty today"

"Thank you, do you like my dress?" she asked smiling

"It suits you very well, what's the occasion?" he asked

"Well I just wanted to wear it, it's my favourite dress and now that I know you like it I may wear it more often" she smiled

"So what are you going to be doing today Tori?" he asked trying to change the subject

"Trying to steal me for a few moments? Don't worry I'm not busy at all today" she said and shifted closer to him

"Tori you know I'm with Padma right?" he asked feeling that it needed to be said out loud

"I do, but you know she doesn't mind sharing you. I heard her talking to Daph about it. That's why they were fighting" the blonde said "So you could be with me too, if you wanted"

"I need to talk to Padma" Harry said and made his way to the main house again. He saw Padma standing on the balcony to her room and he climbed up to her.

"Hi" she smiled at him

"Why would you tell Daphne that you'd share me?" he asked not bothering with a greeting

"Cause she likes you" Padma said and looked over his shoulder where Astoria was watching "And so does Astoria who is getting exactly what she wants right now" she said angrily

"It's not about her, it's about us. Don't you think I'd like to know what my girlfriend is setting me up for?" he asked taking her hand "I want you, you make me happy. Sure they're pretty but they weren't the ones helping me develop my fighting style or new spells"

"I know, but it doesn't matter to me if you're with them too Harry" she shrugged "You make me happy but my life has so much more to it, I don't want to be some damsel who needs to be taken care of. I want to make changes in the world, that's why I want to study law"

"Goddammit Padma that's why I want you! You're a true partner" he said

"What if we can't make it? Won't you regret not having someone else there" she asked "You know most boys would jump at the opportunity to date Daphne and me at the same time, even more so if it were Astoria and Daphne and me"

"That's not me Padma, at least I don't think it is. I won't lie to you. I do like both of them and probably more than the other girls in the group but I like you the most" he answered "So no more talk about sharing me okay?"

"Okay fine" she said with faux disappointment

"Now come on, we only have a few hours before we head off to catch a French locomotive" Harry said "And I'd rather spend them with you"

"Doing defence?" she asked "I'd like to work on my ice shield, it still fails after a few spells and if it can take a few of your spells then I should be okay"

"I was thinking more along the lines of kisses with you but if you want to do defence then alright" he shrugged and went out to the field behind the house

"Now cast your shield" he instructed and watched her gather her energy and then cast "Why do you pause before you cast?" Harry asked

"I don't, maybe just a little" she said "I'm just focusing on the spell before I cast"

"It has to be one fluid motion, gather and then cast" Harry explained

"Okay" she said and then tried again

"Better, now do you keep pouring energy into the shield after you produce it?" He asked

"No, it's a physical shield so I shouldn't need to" she explained

"I understand that but if you keep pouring magic into it then it won't crumble" Harry explained

"But if I'm pouring magic into a shield I can't do much else, what about escaping?" Padma asked

"Why are you casting the shield? To protect yourself or to ensure your escape?"

"Both?" she asked causing Harry to raise an eyebrow

"For such a brilliant witch my dear, you are awfully naïve about actually using defensive and offensive magic. Let's say we're caught unaware, our whole group, and you need to protect yourself then the shield that you're constantly strengthening is more appropriate but if you're alone and need an escape then the other. But if you're going to fire a spell from behind the shield then you obviously need a shield that will take only a few hits"

"I read the same strategy books you know" she said back

"Then you'll know intent is the most important part of magic and yours seems muddled" he said "Do you want to fight or do you want to play defence?"

"I don't know Harry, you can't do all the fighting but I don't necessarily want to fight" she said

"Do you want to train with the fighters while you make up your mind?" he offered

"No, maybe just with you?" she answered

"Okay, then let's fight and we can see what you can do? I'm assuming you've learnt some spells?" Harry asked

"I have, can you cast the protective ward or do I need to grab those ward stones we have?" Padma asked

"I have them right here" Harry said and activated the stones

"Usual rules then?" Padma asked

"Alright" he said reluctantly

"Go" she shouted and started casting a few stunners and then a blasting curse at the ground causing dirt to be shot into the air and then followed it up with a strong wind charm trying to blind Harry. She paused and gathered magic to attack again but a knife came flying through the dirt causing her to dodge into his stunner

Harry woke her and helped her to her feet

"Not a bad set of spells, I liked your use of the blasting curse, it may have helped against other opponents but I have fought blind before so" he shrugged

"What would have been better against you?" she asked "I know Draco outwaited you and you were forced to attack in that case but what if you're not like now?"

"A number of things; you could tire me out by forcing me to produce stronger and stronger shields but you don't have that power, you could try a combination of magical and physical attacks and hope I block one and let another through, you could out think me because I do believe you have the brain to do it. Other than that I don't know, I may not know all my weaknesses" Harry said

"Okay, can we try again?" she asked

"We need to get going but we can do it again when we find a place at Beauxbatons" Harry said

The day passed quickly and soon they were standing on a platform much grander than that of the Hogwarts express. The train that was warming up in front of them was light blue and was made up of seven large compartments, two smaller than the rest. When they went to board the train they were faced with a friendly prefect

"Good morning" she said in French "You must be more students from Hogwarts. As I told your fellow classmates the train is separated by year, First years start in the front and all the way at the back are the seventh years." She explained politely

"We're all in third year except for Astoria and Emily" Harry said pointing out the two girls

"Excellent. To make you feel more welcome we will be pairing you with a student in your year, we have received your subject choices so we have paired you with someone who shares your classes" she smiled and started pairing them up with Beauxbatons student body

"And lastly Harry Potter, you will be guided by Ms Gabrielle Delacour"

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	30. Chapter 30

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Once again I must apologise for the delay. I recently moved into my new apartment and that has been taking up all my writing time. But here it is…**

 **Chapter 30 – French classes, architecture and women**

Padma was bowled over by the beauty of the school, they had arrived earlier that day and had just wrapped up their tour. The school was like a medium sized French village, it had a dormitory building which was eight floors high; first years and the headmistress slept on the top floor, followed by second years and another professor on the next and so it continued to the bottom floor which was reserved for the prefects, the head boy and girl and the rest of the staff. Each floor except the bottom floor was split into a landing off the staircase and three rooms, two massive and one large room for the professors, the bottom floor had an entry way where the staircases started and the rooms.

The rooms housed every girl or boy of the specific year, the open nature of the room with the massive windows made the room very light. Padma noticed that you couldn't see into the room from outside but from inside you could see out which amazed her.

The dormitory building stood right next to the dining hall, both were at the centre of the village that was Beauxbatons. The other buildings were where classes were held, some were single story and others double and even triple story. There was no Quidditch pitch but there was a gymnasium which looked more modern than any of the other buildings but still suited the look of the school. Inside they found five Olympic sized pools, a running track and various other sporting equipment

"And that's it" Marie the prefect said to the third year group "The gymnasium, the library and the dining hall are open to all students from five in the morning until ten at night. All students are to be in their rooms by ten minutes after ten"

"Now you're partners will show you around and teach you some tips and tricks. Hopefully we'll manage to keep some of you for longer than just the one year" she smiled and left the group to explore the school grounds

Harry followed Gabrielle as she explained where they had the various classes and which were her favourites; he noticed that there was an older girl looking at Harry suspiciously, she looked slightly like Gabrielle.

"Ms Delacour?" he said getting her to pause "Why is your older sister watching us like that?"

"You can tell we're sisters?" She asked smiling "She's probably just worried"

"I can, you look like you could look like her in two or three years with a growth spurt I guess. Why would she be worried?"

"Because I'm a Veela, just like all the women in my family. We have a natural allure, that's why everyone stares at her like they are" she pointed to the guys around her older sister "And I do too, but you seem entirely immune to it and I haven't been holding it back like I should be. Mine is still weak because I should be going through a growth spurt but Fleur has been through hers already"

"Aren't Veela classified as creatures?" Harry asked and saw the girl's features become darker

"Do I like a creature?" she asked voice dripping in venom

"Don't take that tone with me? I meant no offence with the question, I am trying to understand you better because I was enjoying your company until now" he said seriously

"I'm sorry Harry James, we've been through some things at this school because of that classification" she said apologetically

"I apologise as well, I never mean to offend you" he said and offered her his arm

"But to answer your question, yes we are but it's easier for wizards to give us that classification than to try and understand us and our power. My mother had to escape a horrible life because of that classification. I'm as human as what you are, I just have a few gifts that other people don't"

"The wizarding world is still so biased, it's something I'm seeing more often. I'm a Parselmouth and that makes certain people think I'm a dark wizard" Harry said thoughtful

"So you have a few gifts too?" she asked

"I guess I do, some secrets as well" he answered

"Well Mr Potter I hope we can get close enough that you'd share some of them with me" she smiled

"I always have more space in my life for more friends." He smiled

Theo sat under a tree with Blaise and watched their friends integrate with the French, they had managed to ditch the two French wizards assigned to guide them around.

"If only we could have been given her to escort us around" Theo said

"She's a Veela, so naturally you would think that" Blaise laughed

"How could you know that?" Theo said trying to see the girl better

"Do you honestly forget everything that isn't dark arts or fighting? My mother is a Veela idiot" he said shaking his head "That one though is still young, she'll grow into her gifts soon like that one watching Harry" Blaise pointed to the older girl sitting in the courtyard

"I see. So I'm only attracted to her because she's a Veela and her powers are attracting me?"

"No Theodore, she is beautiful and her allure wouldn't work this far out. Enough about Veela though, has your father said anything about the tattoo?"

"Not really, he was surprised by the power boost he received though. He has been trying to arrange for Harry to be declared an adult but with his godfather in the picture things have ground to a halt"

"Why does he need Harry to be declared an adult?" Blaise asked

"He wanted Harry to take the two seats belonging to him I suppose. What's that?" Theo asked seeing an eagle flying towards Harry. Harry stretched out his arm and retrieved the letter from the bird

"No idea, he doesn't seem very interested in reading it now. Maybe we can corner him later?" Blaise shrugged.

The day seemed to pass rather quickly and soon the students had all gathered in the dining hall taking their seats for supper. Harry slid into a seat beside Padma

"Hey you" he smiled at her

"Hi, this place is amazing isn't it Harry?"

"That it is my dear, thinking about transferring here permanently already are we?" he asked jokingly

"Maybe" she said slightly blushing but serious

"Alright then" he said thoughtfully

Blaise and Theo took seats across from Harry and dug straight into their supper, there seemed to be two very irritated French students glaring at the pair.

"Pissing off the French are we?" Harry asked

"We can't all be led around by a beautiful French witch like the one staring at you" Blaise said

"Yeah you lucky bugger" Theo said "Seems all the pretty witches are after you"

"Don't let my sister or Hermione hear you say that" Padma said

"What?" Theo asked

"Oh nothing, Harry I'm going to explore the grounds some more with Marie. See you later" she said and got up to leave

"Hermione likes me?" Theo asked Blaise

"Not important. What about that letter you received Harry?" Blaise asked

"Personal business, it was quite a magnificent eagle though. I might have to get one as well, you know since I have a godfather to write"

"Will you ever tell us the full truth about your life Harry? You know everything about us but we only know what you show us, it bothers some of us because we want to help where we can. Ask Theo" Blaise said looking at Theo whose eyes betrayed him

"I actually know everything" Theo said after Harry nodded his head

"Well there are those of us who don't and we'd like to help. Padma and I are the more serious ones" Blaise argued

"Why do you want to know everything? It will change how you see me and it will change how you view life. Theo has known what his father was all his life and that's why I felt more comfortable with sharing with him. Nothing changed in him but he sees me differently now"

"That should be my choice Harry, otherwise you gave me this to pacify me" Blaise said lifting his shirtsleeve

"Okay, let's go for a walk and I can tell you everything including what is in the letter" Harry said

The trio left the dining hall and walked around the school in silence as Harry tried to find the correct words to confide in Blaise. He unbuttoned his waistcoat and loosened his tie

"Blaise, I was raised by an assassin from the age of eight. He taught me tricks of the trade and gave me the tools I needed to become exactly what he is. That's the basic outline I suppose, the letter I received was a request for my services or rather a request to represent me in my services here in France"

"An agent?" Theo asked

"Yes I guess that would be accurate."

"How many people have you killed?" Blaise asked

"Honestly you don't want to know and it doesn't matter. I've come to realise that the number doesn't matter to me anymore, it hasn't for a while I guess"

"And you're not going to stop until?" Blaise pressed

"Until I no longer have goals to reach, goals demand sacrifice and sometimes that sacrifice includes human life" Harry said seriously "If you can't accept that then join the yoga group or the med group"

"That is not why I'm asking, Merlin. You need lieutenants if you're going to fight Draco and succeed in all our goals, if you can't trust us then why train us?" Blaise asked loosening his own tie

"Theo did ask me to tell you at least but I decided to sit on the knowledge" Harry clarified "I do trust you, I don't trust the lessons ingrained in you as you grew up and I don't trust human nature"

"Harry my father died serving people like Voldemort so you really have very little motivations to keep me out of the loop. My mother enchants the most dangerous and illegal things, so I'm no stranger to dark magic or dubious people" he explained

"Alright Blaise, I cannot allow you or Theo to accompany me on these missions though. I'll need you to cover for me though" Harry said

"That's fine, I'm not asking to come along. But with this new revelation I think we should move to darker spells" Blaise suggested

"Professor Snape is already sourcing a few books for us" Harry said "He'll be here next week sometime so we'll be able to see what he has for us"

"There you are Harry" Gabrielle called

"Ms Delacour, these are my friends Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott" Harry said introducing the two boys

"Hi, I'm Gabrielle Delacour" she beamed causing Theo to grin like an idiot

"Ms Delacour, maybe keep your gifts restrained. Generally Theo is more composed than this" Harry said smiling

"No he isn't" Blaise laughed "I'll take him to the rooms to calm down" he said and dragged Theo off into the distance

"I guess you have me all to yourself now" Harry shrugged "What do you do for fun?"

"I spend evenings in the gymnasium or the library. Since it's early in the year I think we could go there?" she offered "I plan on trying out for the duelling tournament this year"

"What?" he asked abruptly

"I plan on trying out for the duelling tournament, doesn't Hogwarts have one?" she asked confused

"No we definitely do not. Last year they tried starting one but it fell flat I suppose"

"Would you like to be my training partner? Usually I ask Fleur but she always takes it easy on me" she pouted

"And you think I wouldn't take it easy on you?" he asked raising his eyebrow

"You might I guess but something tells me that you don't like losing" she grinned

"And you think you could beat me?" he asked

"Don't let this petite figure fool you Mr Potter" she said "Shall we have a practice round? Then you can decide if you want to join me permanently?"

"Sure, I think we should get changed first. Don't want to be ruining your pretty uniform" Harry grinned back at the blonde

"Everyone has a locker in the gymnasium with their Beauxbatons training clothes, didn't you listen earlier?" she lectured

"No for some reason there was this blonde who incessantly kept speaking to me" he replied and just received a punch in the arm

"Let's go, now I really want to beat you" she said and pulled him toward the gymnasium

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Chapter 31 – Talking**

Padma had found him where he usually was these days; cooped up in the gymnasium with the heavy hitter group and the French witch. Padma had given up trying to join the fighting group, she didn't want to go into the territory they were now; when Gabrielle was with them Harry kept them working on duelling technique and helping everyone refine their fighting technique as he perfected his own, and when she wasn't they were learning more powerful and gruesome magic.

Padma had no inclination to fight, instead she spent hours in the vast library with Hermione and Daphne drinking in as much knowledge as they could. But standing here looking down at how Gabrielle and Harry laughed and goaded one another Padma realised she had missed Harry, they had each wrapped themselves up in the experience and now it was almost Christmas and they had drifted apart. She missed their talks about magical theory and the future of the wizarding world but she didn't miss the romance.

"I've fallen out of love with him" she said out loud "How?"

"I think it's because you never really were" Astoria said from behind her "Otherwise that would drive you crazy" she pointed down to the fight below where Gabrielle had managed to get Harry in a head lock and then kissed his cheek when he submitted

"I did love him, I still do" Padma defended

"As a friend yes and maybe as a leader too but the fact that you allowed Daphne to get close to him if he wanted had nothing to do with you not minding. I've been watching both of you, you know. He does miss you, as his girlfriend but he doesn't want you to miss out on anything here so he is giving you space and wrapping himself up in activities to keep his mind off you. Whereas you've wrapped yourself up in everything without sparing a second thought to him" Astoria said with judgement in her voice

"I suppose you're angry with me then? For what? Letting someone else get close to him that isn't you?" Padma spat

"It's not just that but yes" Astoria nodded "I'm not afraid to make him the centre of my world but he won't let me close because I over played my hand. But she has managed to get him to fall for her and he doesn't even know it yet"

"I think I should talk with him" Padma said

"Soon, don't leave him thinking everything is alright over Christmas break. Explain it to him, tell him you still want to be by his side" Astoria said

"Sometimes I forget that you're Satan when you're being so nice and so honest" Padma teased and was rewarded with Astoria sticking out her tongue

Harry watched as Gabrielle stopped his knives in mid-air and cast a disillusionment charm on them. He immediately created an ice double and stepped to the left, a moment later the double was hit by the three invisible knives

"Going to have to be quicker than that Ms Delacour" he teased but felt three objects pierce his leg and looked down to see knives similar to his protruding from his leg

"Going to have to learn that you're not the only one with knives" she teased back "And I believe that is first blood" she said stepping closer to him

"I don't need healing spells don't worry" he smiled and cast a powered spell on himself after removing her knives "I believe these are yours"

"How did you cast that? I know you couldn't cast that on Theodore yesterday" she asked in hurried French

"One of my gifts Ms Delacour" he smiled and cast a reparo on his clothing

"Like the tattoo? Don't you trust me?" she asked feigning hurt

"If I hadn't spent close to four months with you I might have fallen for that" he laughed "I promise that I'll tell you everything but I need to speak to the group first, some of it is not my secret alone to share"

"Some of them don't seem to like me though. Like the one with the two surnames or the blondes who are sisters but look like twins"

"There are reasons I suppose" he said not explaining any more

"Such as?" she prompted

"Honestly I don't know, my friends always have reasons for the things they do. Even if the reasons are not particularly good"

"I guess I have no choice but to trust you Mr Potter" she said linking her arm in his "Ready to return to England for the break?"

"I guess I am, things have been quite quiet here compared to Hogwarts but I suppose that's what things are like in a normal school" he said thoughtfully

"Considering making the switch permanently like the Indian twins?" she asked hopefully to which he made a non-committed and distracted grunt "I've said something wrong haven't I?"

"No you haven't. I just seem to always get news about my girlfriend from everyone but my girlfriend. I knew she was thinking about it but not this seriously" he answered

"You're dating one of the Indian witches? You're never together, not that I see at least" she asked clearly surprised

"Yeah we are, Padma the super intelligent one"

"Oh I'm sorry I've given away news that was not mine to tell" she apologised in French

"You know you only speak French to me when you're stressed in some way" he noted

"I can't help it" she said softly

"I like when you speak French though" he said in French "It sounds so much better than everyone else here. Almost makes it worth the glares your sister still sends my way" he laughed

"Leave Fleur alone she's worried you're only taking advantage of me like most men would and stop changing the subject. What will you do if your girlfriend stays?" she asked taking a seat on the grass

"Honestly Ms Delacour if she's been thinking about staying I think she's been thinking about leaving me as well so I don't expect to have a girlfriend when I return in January" he said running his hand through his hair "She thinks everything through and she's very thorough about her decisions"

"I'm sorry Harry James" she said sincerely "Sorry about your heartache not the situation I suppose" she said and left him alone to his thoughts

Harry decided to continue walking around the school and think; Severus had asked him to stop the ritual until further notice as he might have found something better that he would reveal over the summer. Then there was Sirius, the man had written him a letter a week letting Harry know what was happening and which treatments he was undergoing. He promised Harry that he would meet him at the train station and from there they'd go to Black Isle for the Christmas break.

Before then he would need to speak to Padma and figure out what was going on between them, he knew that he needed her in his life but she needed to figure out where she wanted to be. Could he decide to come to France permanently for her? No he needed to be in England, he still owed Death a life and he needed to get close to Dumbledore

The following day they were on the train back to the station; Harry was seated in a compartment with Blaise and Theo

"So we won't be seeing you this Christmas break?" Blaise asked

"No, I'll meet you back here after Christmas break. But write if you need anything" he said

"We will" Blaise said "So are either of you thinking about moving to Beauxbatons permanently?"

"No chance, I hate the place" Theo said

"I won't be staying either. I still have goals to accomplish" Harry said

"Yeah I'm not going either, Justin and the twins are though" Blaise said, there was a knocking at the door

"Hi guys, can I speak to Harry?" Padma asked

"Sure just kick us out" Theo joked but got up and left with Blaise

Harry didn't meet her eyes, instead he looked out the window and watch the French countryside roll by

"Harry" she said softly "I'm sorry"

"For not talking to me Padma or making your decision without at least giving me a warning? I don't care if you stay but I would have like a little bit of a heads up" he said

"All of it, I've fallen out of love the same way you've fallen in love so you can't blame me" she said "Our lives are simply taking different paths Harry and one day our paths will meet again but for now I think we should break up"

"What could I have done differently? I don't want to lose you" he said honestly "And I haven't fallen in love"

"You couldn't have done anything differently because you were the best boyfriend and you're not losing me. I'll always be by your side changing the world. This will make me better Harry, it will allow me to explore fields outside of those offered at Hogwarts"

"Alright, I'm not angry Padma. I just didn't expect that you'd dump me I guess" he chuckled with a hint of sadness

"I thought we'd be together for longer than we were too, but life always has its own plan" she said solemnly

Harry chuckled to himself, if only she knew about the Powers interference in this world she wouldn't make comments like that so lightly.

"I guess you're right" he smiled and gave her a hug

"And allow yourself to fall for her Harry, she's already head over heels in love with you" Padma said

"Who? Daphne? Astoria?" he asked perplexed, maybe he would have to talk to Gabrielle and get her advice on it

"Well both of them as well, but I am talking about Gabrielle" Padma said "The Veela"

"Gabrielle? We're friends, she's amazing and we have fun training and talking" Harry defended

"Harry the two of you have had more fun than you and I have these past few months. She's smitten, that's why her sister is always glaring at you" Padma said "Go for it if you have the chance"

"Thanks for the advice, I really do hope we can remain friends" he said

"Me keeping this" she said revealing her forearm "Should tell you that you can always be guaranteed of that Harry"

The rest of the trip found them talking about their months at the French school and Harry realised that he had missed so much of the experiences his now ex-girlfriend had and that she hadn't had a few of the ones he did.

"We should probably have the group gather once a week after the break?" he said

"We should, we haven't really spent time together. How is the Draco situation going? Did Professor Snape manage to find him?"

"No, but Theo's father has it on good authority that he is at a school. The Ministry apparently has a regulation buried in the education charter that forces parents to declare where their children, magical only, are being educated. That record is sealed by in two ways, one by the ministry and one by the parent, so the ministry official can tell Nott Senior that the record was updated before the school year started but he cannot open it" Harry said and breathed out heavily

"So what is the plan now? I think most of the healer and yoga groups have covered most of our assigned work load and I think the Healers are ready to decide whether they want to move onto more complex injuries. It means we can keep the injuries away from Madam Pomfrey and subsequently the Headmaster" she reported

"Then make the call about them, maybe have Hermione take over leading the group since you won't be with us anymore. Also have them work on stocking up on potions, in the muggle world there are these things called first aid kits. Hermione will know what I mean, I want you to put together a concept and I'll pay for everything but I want every healer to have one"

"Good idea" she smiled "We're okay right?"

"Yes we are" he said giving her hand a squeeze "The train is slowing, let's go see our families shall we?"

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	32. Chapter 32

**AN- Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary this story. So I'd like to send out a massive thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites. I truly appreciate you staying by this story throughout the irregular updates. So one year later here's…**

 **Chapter 32 – Fathers**

Harry unpacked the last of his belongings and stepped out onto the balcony of his room and looked out over the ocean. The island was beautiful and reminded him of the time he spent with John

"All settled?" Sirius asked

"Yeah, have you fetched your surprise yet?" Harry asked in return

"That I have, let's go downstairs" the older man said excitedly

When he reached the landing of the stairs he saw an older version of the boy who always stood back when Sirius and James attacked Severus

"Hi Harry, I'm…"

"Remus Lupin, I know" Harry said seriously

"I told you Snape told and showed him everything. He knows about all of it" Sirius explained

"Alright, well Harry times are different know and people change. Severus and I have dealt with our past and I hope that that past does not taint our relationship" the man smiled weakly

"I'll give you a chance Mr Lupin, will you be staying with us for the summer?" Harry asked visibly less hostile

"I will but only from next week, I have something to deal with before then" he smiled and checked the time

"We can tell him Remus, besides he has a secret to tell me as well. If you'll make a vow then he can tell you too" Sirius nodded enthusiastically

"It's not safe Padfoot, you know full grown wizards struggle to handle it" Remus said to his oldest friend "But I'll stay simply to ensure you don't break your vow"

"So how did the vow Snape made go again?" Sirius asked

"I, Severus Snape, vow not to reveal any information given to me by Harry James Potter to anyone under any circumstances'" Harry said

"Pretty restrictive vow Harry, can I alter it slightly?" Lupin asked

"How would you alter it Mr Lupin?" Harry countered

"Just add on 'as long as I believe Harry James Potter is safe'" he asked

"No, take the vow as is or leave and let Sirius make his vow" Harry decided "Too much is at stake for me to have you break the vow"

Both men ended up taking the vow and listening to Harry's story about Death, death, Dumbledore and his life. Sirius paled when he heard that Harry had killed and killed not only because of a deal with Death but also because he was highly effective

"So you're an assassin?" Lupin asked

"Yes I suppose I am" Harry said

"Sirius he plans on killing Dumbledore" Lupin said "Dumbledore, the man we looked up to all our lives"

"Moony I lost James already, I lost the chance to prevent this and I now I don't want to lose my godson. So I'll support him even if it means the death of a good man"

"Dumbledore is not a good man. He just enjoys playing chess and his positions allow him the best game there ever was, my parent's deaths and my childhood and my current circumstances are all products of his game. So too his death will be a product of his own doing" Harry said menacingly

"Well then what is my little furry problem in comparison" Lupin laughed

Theo sat across from his father watching the man sign payment slips for the various businesses the family was invested in.

"Malfoy has responded to all my letters as though nothing has changed. But he keeps suggesting meetings, so when you out in the Alley keep your eyes open" he father said seriously

"Yes father, I was not planning on going out to the Alley. Blaise invited me over for a week but I'd rather work on my duelling technique if you have time" Theo said

"You seem a lot more serious than before Theodore, what's bothering you?"

"Harry needs an equal, a partner wand if you will. I want to be that and we are best friends but he still seems a thousand steps ahead of me. And Blaise seems to want the place just as much as I do" Theo explained

"You know everything about Harry right?" the older Nott asked

"I do father"

"Would you be able to do what he has done? Take lives?" he asked now giving his son all his attention "That's what he does and not because he is in a fight but because he needs to and he may not know but he wants to"

"I think I could, I've read battle strategy and I've been practising some of the spells in the books from the family vault too" he answered

"Let's go find out if you have the stomach then, I have a debtor who isn't paying so you're going to convince him to pay either with his life or his money" Nott senior said and pulled on a coat

Theo followed his father through the Floo and into Diagon Alley, they walked down to Knockturn. His father walked with purpose on this visit, they didn't pop into the various shops and make small talk with the owners.

They stepped into an apothecary across the Rusty Cauldron

"Mr Nott, I see you brought young Theo with you" a man said from behind the counter

"We're not here for pleasantries Melvin, we're here for the money you owe our family" Theo said slightly shaky. He had seen his father do this before, he knew what needed to be done and how it needed to be done. If he wanted to stand by Harry he had to do this to prove that he deserved to stand there

"Ah young Theo, you see the business has been suffering. I could show you the ledgers" the man offered and then threw a glance to Nott senior

"Don't look at me, Theo is here for his business" Nott senior said taking a seat

"And I don't care to look at falsified ledgers. Now where is my money Melvin" he said more confidently

"Please Mr Nott, we're barely keeping our heads above water" the man said to Nott senior directly "We're doing every…" he started when Theo cast a blasting curse and the glass on the counter

"You are talking to me Melvin not my father" he said

"We're doing everything we can but the restrictions on certain ingredients are crippling our business" he said shocked that the usually friendly boy was playing the role his father usually did when Theo wasn't along

"Crippling you say?" Theo asked and cast a bone breaker at the man's leg causing him to scream "Something like that? Or is it worse?"

"Please Theo, we're doing our best"

"Your best is not good enough" he said grabbing the man's left arm and stretching it across the counter and cast a dark cutting curse on the left hand taking off two fingers

"Next time I'll take the whole hand. You have two weeks" he said and left the building. He walked confidently till he was out of sight of the shop owners and then threw up the breakfast he had, panting heavily

"Well done Theo, my first time I threw up right outside the shop" his father said handing him a handkerchief "You did well"

"Thank you father. How much does he owe the family?" Theo asked

"Five hundred galleons but I doubt we'll see much of it. When Melvin started out he had his sights on the apothecary in Diagon Alley but he got caught up in trying to run the illegal potion and ingredient trade as his main business and when the authorities got stricter on imports he started to struggle. He cannot afford the bribes that the current owner of the main apothecary can so his business is dying" Nott senior said

Theo was about to reply when he saw the green light and tackled his father to the ground; the pair rolled behind a low wall

"Come out Nott, it's time for our partners meeting. We need discuss your withdrawal from our business ventures due to your unfortunate passing" Lucius Malfoy said

"There are five of them, we're out numbered" Theo said after risking a quick look around the wall

"You've read tactic books, what should we do?" the older man asked

"We could try and distract them and escape?" Theo offered "Live to fight another day"

"Or?" Nott Senior asked his son

"Get a hit on Malfoy and hopefully his cohorts fall back to protect him" Theo offered

"If you won't come out we'll simply need to destroy that wall you hide behind" Malfoy called and started firing off spells

"Not a bad one, give me one more and then we can get out of here" Nott senior said still keeping calm

"Wide range attacks? Flaming arrows?" Theo asked

"Another good plan. For now we will make a tactical retreat, they have weakened the wall enough so on three we will cast blasting curses at it and then we run to the Leaky cauldron" he said and Theo nodded

"One, two and three" he said and then cast; the wall was blasted into thousands of stones. Causing the necessary distraction for the Notts to escape.

Nott senior led Theo into the study and poured him a drink as well as one for himself

"What did you learn from the attack?" he asked

"To stay calm and not let myself get overwhelmed by flying spells. To think through all the options and that sometimes a tactical retreat or even outright running from a fight is not out of the question" Theo answered still shaking from all the adrenaline in his body

"Why do you think I chose the retreat?" he pressed his son

"Because we were outnumbered by opponents with greater skill?" he asked

"Answers only" Nott senior said

"Because we were outnumbered by better opponents" Theo answered

"No, I didn't know where your skillset was. If I risked a fight I might have lost my life trying to save you or we could have defeated them. I place the odds at about seventy thirty"

"You didn't have all the relevant information to go into battle then"

"Exactly, I know Harry has the power to take that risk but not all of us are that gifted. You need to think for him when he seems to be going on pure power because he will lead you into many battles. Some of which will require more than endless magical reserves, you want to be his battle partner? Then show him that you have skills equal to his and even some he doesn't" he said to his son

"How close we you to Voldemort father? I know you had the tattoo but in terms of skill and power?" he chanced

"Leading his army there were three of us. Malfoy, the older Lestrange and myself but only Malfoy and I knew the plans in detail. He trusted us without question until he lost his mind"

"So you're saying Blaise and I can both stand by him in that way?" Theo asked causing his father to think

"Yes you can" he said finally "But you need to ask yourself if you're willing to give him that much power. You saw what happened with Lucius, believe it or not there was a time I actually got along"

"Thanks father" he said and left the room

"You failed to apprehend two wizards?" Draco shouted and sent all his hate and frustration to the dark marks and watched as all seven men fell to the floor "My own father fails me near constantly. No one has any information on Azkaban, no one can find the French school and not one of you can find Harry Potter and you call me the child"

A few shocked faces looked at him while others simply looked to the ground

"Yes I hear your murmurs. Twenty grown men running in the halls and gossiping like school girls. Find me answers or else" he threatened

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	33. Chapter 33

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Chapter 33 – Lessons**

Severus sat at the Leaky cauldron waiting for twelve when he would step through the Floo and see Harry for the first time since a few weeks into the school term. He found himself missing the boy and his infectious smile.

He read the piece of paper again ' _Black Isle_ ' he shook his head at his own silliness. He knew the address by heart already

The clock struck twelve and he stood and made his way to the Floo and then called the address and found Harry sitting in front of the fireplace when he exited

"Severus" he smiled

"Harry, how have you been?" the older man asked

"I'm well thank you, this takes getting used to. You know how Sirius can be, I've been living in a constantly changing environment all my life so this is just a new phase I suppose"

"You know normally children, especially teenagers, answer with 'I'm alright'" Severus laughed

"I suppose. How have you been without teaching duties?" Harry asked

"Busy, there is quite a bit changing at Hogwarts. You'll be returning to a completely new school. From uniforms to classes"

"Will you still teach potions?" Harry asked and stood

"No, I applied for a new subject to be taught and to be taught by me and was granted permission. Hogwarts will officially be teaching a Dark Arts class from next year" he smiled proudly

"Severus that is amazing!" Harry said smiling too "Who will teach defence against the dark arts? You will have to work closely with them won't you?"

"Ex-Auror Alastor Moody will be taking on that job and we do have a working relationship" Severus explained

"Great. Shall we head down to the basement and I can show you what I have been up to?" Harry asked and led the man through the doors and down the stairs

"Where are Black and Lupin?" Severus asked

"They decided to go into town for supplies"

"Avoiding the confrontation then I suppose" the older man said taking of his cloak

"Yeah, they don't think that Sirius can be civil so they're just avoiding finding out. Any way I bought these dummies" he said summoning the training dummies without his wand

"Keep working on wandless magic" Severus said "Some texts say Merlin could perform all magic without a wand"

"I will keep working on it. The dummies as you can see allow you to see the effects of your curses, it provides an effective deterrent to those curious to use the curse but do not have the fortitude to deal with the consequences" Harry explained "Also they can be set to different difficulties and can be linked to act as a team. I bought twenty of them and sent three to Blaise, Theo, Neville, Justin and Terry and kept the rest for myself"

"Excellent, when you're together you should try linking them all and have a fight where you're outnumbered. What are the difficulties?"

"The lowest setting is easy and ramps up to grandmaster duellist. With six levels in total"

"What levels have you cleared?" The Professor asked

"Easy, trainee, duellist and expert duellist. But I have been fighting not duelling which is the only reason I cleared the expert duellist level, if I follow duelling rules and etiquette I can't" he admitted

"What are you struggling with in respect to duelling? Have you tried finding fighting dummies instead of duelling ones?"

"With duelling you can't use darker spells and I've been shifting my spell repertoire to a darker focus. I have but they're quite expensive and I wanted to see how the rest of the group got on with these first before I made that investment" Harry said

"Good but you need to learn to play the role of the light wizard. Today those lessons will start, we will duel and you will only use light, or what's considered light, magic. Then we will have lessons on my roles in both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters to better help you understand playing multiple roles"

"Before I go back to Hogwarts you mean?" Harry asked

"Yes, Dumbledore is no fool and he will figure out your secret if you keep moving into the dark"

"What if I have Sirius and Lupin tell him that they're worried and they want him to talk to me? Then I kill him?"

"That could work but you have two years to get through first before you can kill him, you need to show him that there is something worth saving. He won't let another Voldemort rise" Severus said

"Death said his death was to happen in my sixth year, I don't know exactly when" Harry said

"So it could be more than 2 years. You still need to be able to play the good guy for the wizarding population to trust you and follow you" Severus said

"And I'm already being doubted by people like deputy Headmistress McGonagall?" Harry almost spat

"Yes, you're brilliant Harry but you need to play this better. Dumbledore's death could be the key to your plans succeeding unimpeded or failing horribly. Minerva will rouse all Dumbledore's allies to ruin you and you'd have to go the same route as Voldemort, Grindelwald and Draco"

"Okay" Harry said deflated

"Don't be discontent Harry, you will be successful; you just need to learn a few new skills. Now let's duel"

Severus drew his wand and cast a quick blasting charm causing Harry and the dummies to be thrown backward. Harry got to his feet and grinned, finally he could fight someone who was so much better than he was

He cast a freezing charm at Severus who batted the spell away not bothering to dodge or shield. Severus advanced on Harry showering down a barrage of various coloured spells causing the boy to dodge and shield. Harry used his non casting hand to summon the table from across the room into the back of Severus which gave the boy time to regroup. Harry cast several cutting curses and ice spikes at Severus who now started shielding against the spells

Severus took a step towards Harry and disintegrated into thousands of crows and surrounded Harry knocking him backward onto his rear. He rolled to the right when he saw the crows reintegrate and a red light come towards him

Severus summoned several steel spears and banished them at Harry who managed to dodge being impaled but had been cut several times. Next the older man summoned lightning and bounced it off the spears at a speed even Harry's seeker eyes couldn't keep up with.

Harry woke with Severus standing over him

"You did well but not nearly well enough" He admonished

"You said I couldn't use dark spells and that damn lightning couldn't be blocked"

"I stunned you, I used the lightning as a distraction. I wanted to defeat you not kill you" Severus said "I will be willing to fight you with dark magic if you can get the other lessons down"

"Really?" he asked excitedly

"Yes now let's try this again. No dark magic" Severus said

Harry cast an ice wall and then sent off thousands of flaming arrows through it and towards Severus who simply burst into crows once more. Harry cast ice on the floor and then skated around the room firing restraint curses and wide range blasting curses at the crows

Severus retook human form mid-air and cast a muted spell at his own feet and then stood side ways on the wall. Harry's face fell, he was hoping to use the iced up ground to through Severus off his game.

Severus took the distraction in stride and fired off his own restraints and cutting curses followed by a thick black smoke and then his own version of the flaming arrows; the flames withstood the smoke and were green in colour similar to the Floo flames.

Harry was struck in the wand arm and chest and fell to his knees coughing up blood and then collapsed.

He woke on the table that he had used earlier

"That was better, your light repertoire needs more spells. At the moment it feels repetitive and underpowered. But you did well turning the field into your favour and it would have worked against dumber opponents. Try however to get the ice to be transparent and not have that feint blue hue, it'll make it difficult to spot and could catch an opponent off guard. Also focus more on transfiguration, most light wizards tend to rely heavily on it."

"I read about Dumbledore's battle with Grindelwald. He used elemental magic and transfiguration"

"He did the same thing you're doing with the flaming arrows but he used water instead and he did it on a grander scale. Train and you'll be able to do it too. Now time for the second part of the lesson"

"Yay story time" Harry muttered

Gabrielle sat on the beach outside their family's beach house, she had just finished her run and was now enjoying the sunshine. She was still dealing with an upset older sister because she didn't restrain her allure around Harry and this had resulted in her mother also being upset with her. It only lasted until Gabrielle explained that the boy in question was completely immune to it and that he allowed her to test it multiple times in various situations. Her mother had calmed down but insisted that she would like to meet the boy and explained that Fleur was upset that Gabrielle had found a contemporary that she didn't have to hide from whereas Fleur had not

"Gabby" he father said warmly

"Yes papa" she beamed

"You are always such a brave and happy child" he smiled "A lot like a younger version of myself" causing his daughter to blush

"Stay that way little one, your sister will mellow when she finds the one for her. She reminds me of the first time I met your mother. She too was always so guarded, keeping such a grip on her allure. My friends all thought I was a mad man approaching a Veela who had been held in captivity by such weak horrible men"

"I know mama's past" she said

"You have not heard this story" he said still smiling "So I walked up to her and told her she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and you know she almost burst into tears. She was so used to keeping her allure inside and tamed, like a caged dragon she had almost given up to that life"

"Mama seems so happy now papa" Gabrielle said looking over her shoulder and into the house where her mother worked in the kitchen smiling and singing

"That she does. That day there in the Ministry I told her that I would find the men who made her feel like she needed to hide and after I brought them to justice I would ask her to dinner" he said proudly

"She always said it started with a romantic dinner" Gabrielle said

"Because that's the story you needed my little one. She thinks that you don't need to hear the story I'm telling you but you need it for different reasons to Fleur. You see you're so different to your sister, you have a natural charm which has nothing to do with being a Veela. People naturally love you, they picked you up as a baby without second thoughts. They never felt as if it was something that came from outside, influencing them against their will which is what the allure feels like" he explained

"But Fleur had such strong allure at a young age and we taught her to keep that part of her under wraps around other people. Then she turned fifteen and her power was unleashed and ever since then she's been struggling to keep it under control but once she finds her partner she will relax. He will let her rest those restraints when they're at home like your mother does and in public it'll be under better control"

"But here at home she is with us she can relax can't she?" she asked

"Yes she can but she is so used to keeping the beast caged that she doesn't know how to let it lose. I have considered inviting your friend over to let her test her power on him and if he is immune let him stay with us to get her used to being relaxed at home but that could backfire and hurt both my daughters in the process" he said seriously

"So you're saying she needs an outsider to be around her and not be influenced by her allure and then she will realise that not everyone is a weak disgusting wizard?"

"In a nutshell, yes but it is not that easy" he said shrugging

"So what happened next? In the story papa"

"I was a young Auror at the time and I was very foolish. I pursued the men that were rumoured to have taken your mother and other Veela captive. I followed every lead and every little clue and I found them, they had just started another little group in Amsterdam. I went in as a customer and then freed all those women before taking the three men there captive. I was promoted quickly but I wasn't interested in the work anymore, I had seen the things they had done to creatures and to humans and wizards. It tempered my jovial spirit and I transferred into the office of International Cooperation and became the ambassador to the ICW"

"And mama?" she asked curiously. She knew how the story ended but needed to know how they got here

"She ended up finding me. She knocked on my hotel room door; when I opened it she looked into my eyes and said 'Now you understand' and all I could do was nod. I had seen why she was what she was. Then she asked me to dinner and we went on a couple of dates; she brought my jovial spirit back to life" he sighed happily "And then one day as we sat drinking wine on the banks of the river outside the home we live in now she slipped; she let her defences fall completely, her full allure hit me like a tidal wave. She gasped and watched as I pushed through it and asked her if she wanted another glass. Then she cried, she cried so much my little one and with every tear she let that horrible cage around her heart crumble. We sat there and I could feel her allure but I was unaffected" he smiled "The owner of the home came out and had that look in his eyes so I stunned him quickly so that she didn't have to deal with it and that the cage stayed away forever. We married shortly after that and then bought that house"

Gabrielle was crying now

"Oh my little one, that's over now. Look at how happy she is now" he said and turned to look at his wife "Go give her a hug and tell her I'll be back later. I'm going to see someone quickly"

The blonde girl ran into the house as the man looked down at the piece of paper in his hand

 _Black Isle_

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	34. Chapter 34

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Chapter 34 – Getting acquainted**

Harry walked Severus to the fireplace and watch the man leave before he went outside and jogged on the beach. Severus had been corrected; he had let himself be so drawn to the dark that he forgot his true and eventual goal, he needed to kill Dumbledore before he could build his own life. To kill Dumbledore he needed to be good and he needed to play that role better.

He was going to stop carrying his knives; Severus had told him that he could conjure knives that would be just as effective.

He stopped in front of the house and saw a short man standing on the stairs watching him; the man had a casual stance and wore a smile on his face. He was dressed in a pair of chinos and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up

"Good afternoon" Harry said in English

"Good afternoon Mr Potter" the older man said in French

"You seem to have me at a disadvantage" Harry replied in French "Are you here for Sirius?"

"No" the man said observing him "I am here because I am curious Harry, if I may"

"Curiosity can get you killed" Harry said seriously

"My name is Jean Pierre Delacour, I believe you know my daughters" he said watching the boy

"Gabrielle yes, Fleur I know of. What can I help you with Mr Delacour? Are they both alright?"

"Why yes of course. I have received these throughout the first part of the school year" the older man said holding up a number of letters

"Ms Delacour has been busy" Harry smiled

"These letters are not from Gabby no, they are from my other daughter" the man said "Complaints and concerns fills these pages"

"I am sorry that Fleur feels concerned or the need to complain. I do believe I have been nothing but cordial to her" Harry said and then shrugged as if to say there is nothing more I can say

"No apologies necessary young Harry. You see I have been in contact with Mr Black and Mr Lupin about you and even your mentor Potions Master Snape and all three have nothing but praise for you. I had to meet this young man myself" he smiled and adjusted his stance "Shall we take a seat?"

"Alright, would you like something to drink?" Harry offered

"No no I am fine, but don't let me stop you" he said and watched as Harry poured himself some lemonade from a carafe

"So what concerns you Mr Delacour?" Harry asked taking the seat next to the man

"Nothing concerns me Mr Potter, I am a happy man and my daughter is happy whilst the other one is placated that her mother and I have spoken to her sister. I am curious; why do three grown men talk about you like you are an adult? Why are you immune to Gabrielle's allure and charm? Why you wear the sign of the Deathly Hallows on your forearm and why do you have such a potent aura?" he asked looking Harry in the eyes "And why you have a fortress built around your mind?"

"Reading someone's mind is a dangerous and illegal thing Mr Delacour" Harry commented "But to answer your questions; I have always been interested in forts and castles and military bases and when I read books on Occlumency that was what came to mind, pardon the choice of words. My potent aura, I can't explain that as I cannot see them" he shrugged "So I'll guess that it means I'm quite powerful with magic and that's what you're seeing. The sign of the Deathly Hallows is a tattoo that my friends and I took, it symbolises the need to always consider ones decisions and it looks pretty wicked too" he grinned

"That it does, Gabrielle has written asking if she can take the mark. Did you offer it to her?" he asked

"I did not, but since she has been spending so much time around us she has seen it often. I was sure she'd ask to take it"

"Good, let her come to you about it and I'd like if you wrote me when she did. Is it just a tattoo and not a dark mark?" the man asked seriously

"No it is not just a tattoo" Harry said and then went on to explain what the tattoo was

"I see, then when you give it to her it may trigger her change. I'm sure she has explained it to you?"

"Yes she has explained how she would go through an awakening of sorts."

"I'd rather her be home when she takes the tattoo then, so if you agree to giving it to her please delay it until the summer holiday and I will invite you and your guardians around"

"Sooner or later I suppose I will get used to being invited somewhere each summer" he mumbled

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing Mr Delacour. Just a personal observation" Harry smiled and watched a familiar eagle come flying his way

"Is that yours?" the older man asked

"No, she is a friends. But I am considering getting one for myself" Harry said "Maybe a black one though"

"She is beautiful. I will leave you to your letter then Mr Potter but I do look forward to your correspondence" the Frenchman said and walked back into the house as Harry untied the letter from the bird

 _Good day Harry,_

 _Below is a contract that was sent in for you. I have listed you on the data base simply as Mr Peverell as requested_

 _Yours in business_

 _MJ Watson_

* * *

 _Good day Mr Peverell,_

 _I have been having a problem with a certain supplier, your skill set is needed and would be appreciated. Details below_

 _Name; DH Langley, picture included_

 _Location; Currently in London_

 _Payment; $0.5 million_

 _Bonus; Early completion (Before Christmas) 25%_

 _I trust this is satisfactory. Send his head as proof of completion via Ms Watson_

* * *

Harry sat and planned, he would take his wand and his rifle. He needed to practice a preservation charm and then get to London for a few days to find his target, he wrote a quick reply to Ms Watson asking her to get her sources to try and find the target and offered her an additional 5% on her regular commission if he was found quickly.

He went upstairs and got his suitcase that John had left him and his rifle case; laying them out on the bed he took out what he thought he would need, some money and a few gold coins in case he needed to use John's contacts. He opened the rifle case and unpacked the rifle; he hadn't used it in a while, Marcus would be furious.

He sat on his bed and cleaned the rifle making sure it was ready for action as he had been taught. He heard the Floo activate and heard Sirius and Remus coming up the stairs

"Harry we got some food" Sirius shouted

"I'm in my room, I'll be down soon" he shouted back and then the door opened

"Sirius you can't just barge into a teenager's room, can't you see he is playing with his rifle" Remus joked

"Ha ha" Harry said humourlessly "I need to go to London, as early as tonight but I should be back here before Christmas"

"Sirius needs to go see his healer as well so I think we can go to Grimmauld place for a bit" Remus said

"So what are you two going to be doing for work?" Harry asked

"Sirius wants to start a business but he doesn't know what he wants it to do" Remus replied again

"I can speak for myself thank you very much" the Black said "I was talking to Dumbledore and he told me about these two brilliant pranksters in the Weasley family. I was thinking we could open a joke shop with them, give Zonko's a run for their money"

"As long as you make sure they're underpaid and overworked. They're responsible for the death of one of the Slytherin students I knew" Harry said

"It seems they're already looking to open a shop of their own" Remus said "I don't think that they'd be willing to work for us and not be partners"

"Then open your own shop and put them out of business" Harry shrugged

"Look we're not as young as we once were, we need people like them to do bulk of the inventing" Sirius said

"Sirius, I've read up on the Black family and they were all ruthless in business dealings. Grow a pair and play dirty, get someone to spy on them and get you recipes for their products. With your monetary advantage you can produce it faster and then take them to court for trademark infringement and tie them up there. Then when they can't keep heads above water you offer them a lifeline, you'd drop the case if they work for you and give them twenty percent of the profits but not the ownership and all products made while they're under contract to you are yours."

"You really hate them don't you?" Remus said

"Their brother nearly killed me for something that was not my fault. So yes, those redheads can get fucked" Harry almost snarled

"Okay, as much as it pains me to hurt a fellow lion I'll take your plan of action" Sirius said

The two men made their way downstairs and onto the porch with their food; Remus fetched a bottle of wine as well.

"Will you just follow whatever he says Padfoot?" Remus asked his best friend

"What choice do I have Remus? If I put my foot down he disappears, he has the resources to do it. I want him in my life and that means I have to compromise, I understand if you feel you need to leave"

"That's not what I'm saying, I've been in the grey for the longest time. I have to deal with those people because the wizarding society excludes werewolves from itself. I'm used to seeing much worse than a teenager cleaning a rifle. I just need to know that you're okay with it, I remember how you struggled being at home over the holidays"

"I struggled with the blood purity crap not the dark magic. Those two were interlocked for the longest time in that house. But with him I see how they aren't one thing and how blind Dumbledore was regarding Lily and James and how he still is regarding Harry"

"Did you go see him?" Remus

"I did, I was summoned. He told me that he is extremely happy that Harry has chosen to live with me. He was worried that Nott was influencing Harry negatively but I convinced him that Harry came up with the idea of the tattoos and that it symbolises making the smart choice and the light choice. Then I fed him the old 'we should embrace our enemies and win them over with our greatest weapon'"

"Love?" Remus asked

"Yes, he told me those words once upon a time. And when I threw them back at him he seemed impressed and thoughtful"

"Well done Padfoot" Harry said from the doorway "I need you to do something else on that front"

"Sure pup what do you need?"

"At the end of my fifth year…"

 **AN – There we go, I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	35. Chapter 35

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Chapter 35 – Assassin**

Harry sat on the roof watching the street for the man to come out of his building; the man was taller than all his bodyguards and almost everyone he walked by, but he had no schedule which meant Harry would have to stalk him and wait for his opportunity. He watched the man walked out of the building and into his vehicle and drove off followed by three vehicles

"Bulletproof glass" he murmured and packed the rifle back into his expanded back pack

The car took off down the street and Harry followed across the various roof tops; using magic where the gaps where to wide he navigated London. The car finally came to a stop at a very old looking building; it was three stories high but lower than all the buildings surrounding it. Unpacking the rifle and getting into position he noticed the man took the lift as his guards took positions on each floor.

"Maybe a meeting is happening" he said to himself and moments later another set of vehicles pulled into the lot and a fat man got out. Harry watched another sniper take his position at a building across from him. Harry re-adjusted himself and lined the sniper up; he had seen the man at the continental with John, the two didn't get along. He fired off a round and watched the rival slump as the wall behind him gathered his splatter

Harry turned back to the building and saw the meeting under way, his target stood back to the window bent over a table; he steadied himself and took a deep breath as he waited for the man to stand upright. When he did Harry let off the shot and released his breath.

The bullet sped across the gap between the buildings; his aim had been true but the bullet lodged itself in the glass

"How the fuck does such an old building have bulletproof glass" he muttered in frustration; he packed the rifle in the back and lay flat on his back

He could go in and take the guy out or he could stalk him longer and try and find an opening; no doubt the man would have extra security after today. But going in there and then meant he had to deal with double the guards

"John killed someone with a fucking pencil, how difficult could thirty guards be when I have magic?" Harry reasoned, got up and pulled his wand and conjured a knife before jumping over the ledge of the building and cast a quick arresto momentum on himself before he landed

The guards were all inside so he managed to get to the door before the action began; he cast a blasting curse at the door and the same smoke Severus did in their duel and dove into the passage. His first victim received a swift kick to the knee and a blasting curse to his forehead, it was more effective than a gunshot at such close range. In the smoke Harry felt at ease; he could be all John trained him to be

He moved into a door way and saw two guards walking down the hall with their jackets covering their mouths. Clearly they thought it was teargas; Harry cast a bone breaker at one of the guard's backs who crumbled to the floor and then Harry used the lump as a spring board and landed on his partner who received a knife lodged into his eye and a bone breaker to the top of the spine. He looted their guns since they were silenced and tucked his wand into its holster

Two more guards stood at the base of the stairs; they were eliminated with two silenced shots. 'First floor cleared' Harry thought

"You betrayed me!" he heard someone shout

Harry heard hurried footsteps coming down the stairs; six pair of feet. He shot the last pair and watched the owner tumble into the other five guards. He emptied the guns and took care of the guards foolish enough to face him. Grabbing his wand he cast a silencing charm on his feet and ascended the stairs, he was moving out of the smoke. When he got to the top of the stairs he saw sixteen men standing in the corridor, 'if only he could be invisible' he thought. They only paused for a beat regarding this teenager with a stick in hand; the pause was all Harry needed as he ran across the floor and started casting cutting curses interspersed with mutilating curses and entrail expelling curses. When he set his foot on the stairs to go to the top floor he looked back at the carnage behind him; 'Draco had better beware' he thought smirking

On the top floor he found the two main men with two body guards each

"What do you want?" the target asked

"Your life" Harry answered simply

"I knew you'd set me up" the target said and made for the fat man. Harry cast a suffocating curse catching the man directly in the throat and watched him struggle for air as he died

"I guess I'll be off then" the fat man said gathering both briefcases

"No you won't" Harry said and cast five bone breaking curses

"What are you doing? I paid you to be protected at this meeting" he shouted "A million pounds!"

"Oh you mean the other sniper, shame he'll never get to spend it" Harry said and picked up one of the guns. Five shots later the room was silent

Harry conjured two glass jars and placed them on the table next to the two briefcases; he took the target and draped him over a chair and cast a powered cutting curse at his neck effectively decapitating the man, he took the head and placed it in the one jar and then repeated the same with the fat man

"I suppose you'll be worth something as well"

He pulled a large bottle from his bag

"I really need to thank Severus for making me this preservative fluid without much question"

He filled both jars and then close them and placed them in the bag along with the two briefcases

"Now for the fun part" he said and left the building; once outside he turned his back and cast fiendfyre and watched the place go up in flames, he gave it a minute and then cancelled the flames seeing the building completely destroyed that quickly was impressive

He walked to the nearest bus stop and made his way to his agents London office; on the trip he watched London go by. The snow had been falling for a while already and the weather was miserable, he wouldn't spend much time here just as John did, it was a dreary place compared to the beaches he now knew.

His mind eventually drifted to his friends and what they had been up to; Theo had written him a five page letter on the strides he had been making in the two weeks they had not seen each other, a detailed feedback on weapons, spells, strategies and goals. Harry thought about how his own father would have raised him and whether he would even have a chance to know Theo, or if he would have had a different best friend.

Blaise wrote to tell Harry that he was going to be moving onto enchantment as his new focus and his mother and grandfather would be his teachers. He offered their services to Harry but eventually he declined not wanting to follow that branch of magic and not wanting to intrude on that family time.

He thought of the yoga group who seemed to always be so light-hearted and happy all the time; they stayed out of talks regarding Draco and delving deeper into magic. They would have been useless to the group if not for their presence reminding everyone what they were fighting for. Harry had seen how Draco, Voldemort and Grindelwald lived and how life was for those they ruled and that was not a life anyone in their group wanted.

He thought of Padma and how she had ended things with him; her logic was sound, she never made a decision without considering all the facets of the argument. She had left him as a girlfriend but reiterated that it didn't mean losing a capable partner; that didn't mean he didn't miss the Indian witch with her shy smile or her tendency to over explain concepts to him, so he allowed himself to miss her as he had been during the term.

His mind however ended up on the same place it usually did these days; the Delacour family and their unique situation. Sirius had managed to get his hands on the fathers file from the French ministry and it read like a classic fairy-tale in some bits and a downright horror in others. The man was a French hero to so many women and especially his wife; he was more than capable with his wand but his true skill lay in his political ability. He could have easily been the next Prime Minister but instead the man chose his family. Harry often thought of the young Miss Delacour, she was beautiful and capable, she was different to Padma in some ways and the same in others.

He shelved all these thoughts as the bus got closer to his destination; he got off the bus and walked to her offices. He entered the offices and was met by the woman herself

"Harry, it's so nice to see you" she smile and tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear

"The feeling is mutual Ms Watson" he replied politely "Shall we go into your office?"

The woman took a seat behind her desk

"Finished your contract already?" she asked

"That I did, and then a little extra" Harry said and put the jars on the desk "I'm hoping you have an open contract for this one"

"Oh my Harry, talk about catching a whale while fishing for trout. You're going to make us both very rich" she smiled

"What is he worth?" Harry asked

"Oh only around ten million pounds" she smiled at the boy "At this rate I'll be able to make a bid for the continental here in London"

"How much would that take?" he asked curiously "And I suppose we should negotiate how much you get for the big fish"

"There is talk the current manager is looking for fifty million up front and then a million for the next fifty years but I'm hoping I can go in for seventy five once off"

"Wow, is the business that profitable?" Harry asked

"More than, the continental turns out about a ten million a year in profits and that excludes tips and gifts" she explained

"How much do you have?" Harry asked

"Not shy are you? What do you want to be my partner?" she asked in a flirty tone

"I have the money" he shrugged

"You have seventy five million pounds?" she asked shocked "Why do you do this then?" she pointed to the jars

"Fun I suppose, it helps me refine my skills"

"You didn't answer the first question" she pointed out

"I have more than that Ms Watson, for someone who deals in the magical world I thought you'd know my history"

"I do, I just didn't know you had that much money. So what's your offer?" she asked

"How much do you need?" he asked in return "for the outright purchase?"

"I have twenty five million if you give me two and a half million for the fat man"

"Go and make the man an offer. I will make up your short fall and we can be fifty-fifty partners but I won't be doing any management work and you can run it as you see fit but I want the penthouse"

"Are you being serious? Don't mess with me Harry, this is my dream"

"Deadly serious. I want the penthouse and fifty percent of the profit that's all"

"Deal, I'll write you when I have a figure" she said excitedly

"You've got a pretty one already" he smirked causing the woman to blush and then he thought how Sirius had rubbed off on him already

"Shush you, take this. It's another contract"

* * *

 _Peverell,_

 _I need this taken care of urgently. No magic or firearms_

 _Name; JP Viljoen (Weapons dealer from South Africa currently in Russia with Family)_

 _Price; 2 million USD_

 _Special instruction; Do not hurt family_

* * *

"I'm not interested" Harry said "List my response with 'No Time'" he said and slid the paper across the desk and stood up

"Okay. I'll get a contract drawn up for the Continental as well, enjoy your festive season Harry" she said and gave him a hug

"I'll wait for your letter"

 **AN – There we go, a little bit of a filler chapter but I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	36. Chapter 36

**AN- Thank you for all the reviews, PM's, Follows and Favourites.**

 **Chapter 36 – Back to France**

Harry sat down in an empty private compartment and waited for his friends before they went into the third year compartment; he had arranged that Sirius would drop him off earlier so that the man could get back to London for the final round of his treatment. He had finished the physical treatment which meant he could find a job if he ever wanted to and he was going to be sitting with a master Legilimens to work on his Occlumency and rebuild his mental shields now that his mind was whole again.

Harry had to admit that it was endearing that the man was going through all this to be close to him and he had to admit that Sirius had brought a missing piece to his life. He was having fun like a regular person, they had been to amusement parks and checked out women on the beach. Sirius taught him that life was there to be enjoyed and it could be done while he was achieving his goals, he didn't have to put it all off until after he achieved all his goals.

He smiled and shook his head

The door was thrown open and a very angry Veela sat across from him

"Tell me why! Why does my entire family sing your praises? Why do they trust a boy they know very little about?" she demanded in French

"I do not know" he said and looked at her intently for the first time. She was gorgeous but she looked so sad and frustrated. He could see it in her eyes, those blue eyes mirrored his before John had come into his life.

"You have no idea how lucky my sister is to have you" she said all anger gone from her voice "She can be irresponsible and let go because you're not 'affected' and you can protect her"

"Let go then" he said simply "I will protect you too you know, you're her sister and I would do anything for my friends"

"What if you're not immune to mine?" she asked shocked

"Oh but what if I am?" he said and cast a locking spell on the door

"What are you doing?" she demanded nervously

"Here" he tossed his wand at her "Now I have no wand and even if you're allure is strong enough to call others they won't be able to get in"

"You are crazy" she said in English now

"Let go Fleur" he said

"I can't, if you weren't immune I would be hurting my sister"

"Let go"

"No, I won't do it" she said and crossed her arms

"You're scared, here I thought Delacour women were tougher than that" he goaded, he needed that sad look out of her eyes

"I am not scared" she snarled

"So. Let. Go" he shrugged "We have a long train ride"

"Harry please?" she begged "Do not make me do this?"

"Let go Fleur" he said, for the first time doubt entered his mind. Was her allure really that strong? What would happen to Gabrielle if his gamble failed?

He didn't get much time to consider failing because it was then when he felt it hit him; unlike Gabrielle's gentle taps to his psyche this was a battering ram that hit hard and repeatedly. The hits amplified and came more frequently when he looked into those blue eyes which were filled with shock

"Is that all?" he goaded her a little more and watched as she let go of those reigns which had been held so tightly. It was like watching a dam burst and he had put himself in its path like the foolish boy he was

For a moment he worried that he would fail which meant he would fail Gabrielle; he would lose her friendship and follow Fleur around like some love-struck puppy. He watched as the tears fell from her eyes; slowly and then freely. There was one word for all that emotion; relief.

Theo and Blaise walked down the passage of the train looking for Harry when they felt it; something was calling them so badly. She needed them and she wanted them; they let their magic lead them forward to find her. They moved through the train and eventually ran into a queue of boys trying to get into a compartment

"She's calling us! She wants us! We can make her happy!" they shouted

Gabrielle had taken a seat next to Daphne and Hermione who were chatting about mind healers and what they could do. Gabrielle listened half-heartedly, she didn't care for healing magic other than what was useful in a fight. Then she sensed it, it was so strong that even the women on the train had interrupted thoughts as evidenced by Hermione turning as if someone had tapped her on the shoulder. Fleur, she thought and got up to find her sister when all of a sudden it ended

"Better?" Harry asked

"How?" she managed through sobs and then "Thank you"

Harry got up and sat next to her and took her into his arms and let her cry as much as she needed. He saw the crowd disappear looking disappointed and confused; then another set of blue eyes looked at him. He waved his hand and unlocked the door so Gabrielle could enter

"Was that what I think it was?" she asked and he simply nodded "You foolish boy"

"I'm sorry Gabby" Fleur said "I shouldn't have let him push me"

"It's okay Fleur, how do you feel?" she asked kneeling in front of her sister

"So much better" she smiled

"Ms Delacour there's something wrong with your sisters face, I've never seen that expression before" Harry joked and received two slaps

"Thank you Harry James" Gabrielle said

"Anytime Ms Delacour" he grinned "I should go find Theo and Blaise and tease them for being weak" he said and got up gingerly removing Fleur from him.

"Harry" Fleur said when he reached the door "Can we do that again sometime?"

"I expect we will" he said looking at Gabrielle "This one likes to experiment"

"Thank you" Fleur gave him a full smile "It means more than you know"

He walked down the hall and shook his head when he saw his friends

"What was that Harry?" Neville asked

"That was the allure of a very powerful witch Neville paired with the foolishness of one Harry James Potter"

"You let Gabrielle's sister test you" Justin said "Merlin Harry almost every male on the train could have hurt her"

"No they couldn't have Justin, it would have taken tremendous power to undo my locking spell. I was the only danger to her and it was a near thing"

"What happened to you?" Theo asked "Did you feel her calling you?"

"No, it was like someone trying to break into my mind. I think she had held that all in too long and that's why it was that strong but I guess we'll see when we try again"

"That could have been dangerous had she been in a place surrounded by men with no protection. Creatures like that need to be…" Justin started but was blown backward by the sheer force of Harry's magic

"She is a witch not a creature. Do you understand me?" he asked

"Alright she's still dangerous" he said standing

"She is. But your biased attitude is what's wrong with the wizarding world" Blaise said

"You sound like Professor Scamander" Justin whined

"Listen and listen well because I'm only saying this once" Theo said with venom in his voice "We are going to change the world and we are going to get rid of all that bias and all that hate towards power. She is dangerous and so you respect the power you don't put it in a cage. So get on board or fuck off"

"Get off me" Justin said and swung for Theo who caught the fist and twisted the boys arm

"I guess you're choosing the fuck off option" Theo said and broke the arm followed by a stunner "Harry, I think it's time to memory charm him and remove the tattoo"

"Alright" Harry said and got to his knees. He used the tattoo to establish a strong link and then wiped all memories of the tattoo, the meetings of the hard hitters, the training and left him with the impression that he had been rejected and become a loner. Then he removed the tattoo and watched the boy pale slightly

"Daph, please can you heal his arm?" Harry asked and the blonde complied

"Please put him in the front of the cabin" Harry said to Blaise

Gabrielle walked in seeing Justin being moved

"What happened Harry James?" she asked coming to his side

"You don't want to know Ms Delacour. How is your sister?" he asked

"She is doing much better but we're going to take you up on your offer" she said smiling

"I expected nothing less" he smiled

"The Duelling tournament will be starting after Valentine's Day, will you be entering?" she asked as everyone too their seats

"I know Theo and Neville want to but I'm uncertain if I do. Are you going to?"

"I am, I think that I'm ready" she smiled

"Then I definitely won't enter" Harry laughed

"Scared of a little competition Harry James?" she countered

"Something like that Ms Delacour" he smiled

* * *

Severus walked through the gates of Hogwarts while the warders were at work creating new and more powerful wards around the school. The teachers had all been called in so that they could be linked to the wards; no longer would only the headmaster be aware of the wards. The changes at Hogwarts would make for a tougher situation for Harry if he planned on leaving to handle business, they would have to keep using the Floo.

* * *

Sirius sat in a chair across from the master Legilimens and his assistant; the room was warm and very comfortably furnished. It resembled nothing in the rest of the hospital, it was almost as if he stepped into a new dimension when he walked through the door

"I understand this is frustrating Mr Black but it is the only way to make your mind a fortress once more"

"Alright, let's try from the beginning" Sirius said

"Close your eyes and imagine an empty field, now imagine the thing most important to you in the middle of the field. It is completely vulnerable; defenceless; you are to protect it. So imagine the safest and most impenetrable structure or place if you prefer"

"I think I've got it" Sirius said

"Now I am going to try and break into your mind, I'm going to be ramping up my attempts every time you manage to keep me out until I can't get in anymore"

"Be warned, it's not a pretty place" Sirius said

"No worries, that's why my assistant is here she will stun me if things go south to protect my mind"

"I'm ready"

"Legilimens" the man said and found himself on a shore looking into the mist. In the distance he saw another island with a massive structure. The environment was gloomy and even though the sun was blazing hot he felt as if he was freezing.

He pushed forward and entered the water which was thicker than regular water; it was as if he was wading through mud. He kept going until he needed to start swimming in this thick liquid, his arms aching and the air getting thinner as if he was gaining altitude

He ended the spell not having gotten close to the next island

"Well done Mr Black that should keep any cursory glances away" the man said exhausted "That was tough"

"Please give it your all" Sirius said feeling exhausted himself

"Okay here we go. Legilimens"

He found himself on the shore again; he conjured a boat and dragged it onto the water. Next he cast a wind charm at his sails and went across the water at a speed but the island didn't come any closer.

'It must be intent based'

Then he changed course as to pass the island; at last the island seem to be getting closer and at the last minute he changed direction and closed his eyes and kept the boat going straight until it hit land and he was thrown from the boat. When he opened his eyes he was faced with a massive structure; completely black in colour. The mist was thicker and the sun was missing completely, he was freezing now.

When he reached the door of the building a hooded figure reached for him and then everything went black. He woke looking at his assistant

"You're vital signs were dropping violently so I stunned you sir"

"No problem Anthony. Mr Black that was impressive, why didn't you do that before?"

"I don't like thinking that I'm using that place as my protector when for years it broke me" he said

"It will keep you quiet safe, your memories that is. Now you need to work on keeping that up without the effort, it should not take so much out of your reserves to keep up the shield. If you have anyone you trust with your secrets I would have them randomly cast the spell to test your shield."

"I will practice then" Sirius said happily

"I would like to try another technique before you go, I rarely get someone who can fortify their minds so well through my doors"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked

"Well mostly I work with patients who want to close off a single part of their lives so I help them build cages or I help them recover memories that they've locked away subconsciously"

"I understand. You'll love my godson then, he showed me his protections. I'll bring him along sometime and see if you can crack him"

"I look forward to it. Now I'd like you to think about a beach, you have quite a tan so I'm guessing you went recently" the man asked

"I did" Sirius replied

"On the beach you stumble across a treasure chest. It is ornately decorated but secure; surely something valuable and dear is locked away in it" he said soothingly "You step closer to the chest and notice it has some writing on it"

"Yes it does"

"It says Property of Sirius Black, you've put your most valuable secrets and treasures in it. Why not take a look?"

"Sure" Sirius said picturing himself opening the box

"Legilimens" the man said quietly and saw himself behind Sirius on the beach. He ran up to the chest and looked inside and saw a Dementor reaching for him

"Well done Mr Black. Remember the trail won't always be so obvious"

"I know, I could hear you cast the spell though and that's what tipped me off"

"I think that's enough for today, bring your godson with sometime I look forward to seeing what he is like"

"I will" Sirius said and made for the door

"By the way Mr Black, how proficient were you before Azkaban"

"Auror level. Even Moody couldn't get into my mind" he grinned and left

"Anthony I think we were hustled" he said to his assistant who was sniggering

 **AN – There we go I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	37. Chapter 37

**AN- Before I start this one I would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone reading the story. 37 chapters in and this story is not even close to half way and there is so much still coming. I never thought I could write one of these 100k stories and a story this complex but here we are. I hope you stay along for the ride and I hope you enjoy it till you see those two words 'The End'.**

 **Chapter 37 – Let's talk**

"Daphne what happened with Justin?" Susan asked

"The boys wiped his memories about everything related to us. He was going on about how the Veela are creatures causing Theo and Harry to lose it"

"Because he was being biased and arrogant like a certain blonde Slytherin we used to know" Susan said and sighed

"Something like that" Daphne said "Hannah might be upset about it since their group doesn't really want to take sides"

"I don't know, she's been getting friendlier with one of these Frenchie's" Susan laughed "I guess Justin took too long"

"I guess, how are you Susan? We haven't really had a chance to hang out, everyone seems to have broken off into groups of two or three"

"I'm doing well Daphne, even better now that I know how Harry reacts to biased wizards. I have to tell someone and now I know there's protection" Susan blushed deeply

"Have things moved further with Neville? Merlin knows the boy loves you" Daphne asked smiling

"Well sort of. I kissed Pansy"

"How does that move you further with Neville?" Daphne asked shocked "And Pansy is still betrothed to Draco"

"Neville likes her too but he didn't that his house would be powerful enough to convince Pansy's father to cancel her current contract and sign a new one" Susan explained "So we wrote to her father and he agreed"

"Wait! Go back, to the beginning and let me know what happened" Daphne said turning to face her friend fully

"Okay so Neville and I have been attracted to one another, nothing serious but we spoke to my aunt and his grandmother about each other before, they both are happy with the match as well. But any way, so before the Christmas break he asked me to be his girlfriend officially. None of this will they won't they. So I told him that I wanted to think about it but I didn't tell him why"

"The 'why' being you fancy Pansy?" Astoria asked taking a seat as well

"Yes Satan" Susan said "So she stayed over and we spoke about how I feel and she said that she liked me too but we knew the world we lived in. so I told her about Neville and she told me about how she felt for Mr Longbottom. Hearing her talk about her feelings for him made me like her more if that makes any sense"

"It doesn't but continue" Astoria said

"I have to agree with Astoria here, but please continue" Daphne said sounding displeased that she had to agree with her sister

"So I kissed her, I pulled her closer and I snogged that girl as well as I knew" Susan's face had now matched her hair "And then Neville walked in"

* * *

Neville sat between Theo and Terry who both were looking at him with mouths wide open

"So you're dating Susan and Pansy?" Terry asked "How Longbottom? You have to teach me"

"No I am not, I'm dating Susan and I am betrothed to Pansy" Neville said

"Well congratulations for messing with Draco, At least one of us has the dating part of our lives in order" Harry laughed and stood up and walked out of the weather dome they had created

"Where are you going?" Terry asked "It's warmer under these charms and drier too"

"I have a meeting with a French witch with quiet a temper so I don't want to be late and risk dying. So I'll be off and I'll see you for the group meeting" Harry said and strolled off

"Wonder when he'll bag that witch. She's crazy for him" Blaise said

"Even more now that he is helping her sister with the allure thing" Theo said

"What happened between him and Padma?" Neville asked

"She's staying here next year, I suppose that's it?" Terry offered

"No they've been drifting for some time" Theo replied "He let her have space to enjoy this adventure and then we along with Gabrielle filled his time"

"I guess that makes sense" Neville said "So who is going to be joining the duelling tournament?"

"Well it's the four of us and I know Gabrielle is joining but Harry isn't" Terry said "Don't know why though"

"We should convince him to join in, I think it's going to be excellent practice fighting people we don't know" Theo said "Even if it means he wins the tournament"

"Alright"

* * *

"Ms Delacour" Harry said smiling, it was such a pleasure to see her

"Harry James, ready to see what I have been working on?" she asked innocently

"Don't act so innocent Ms Delacour, I know how dangerous you are" he laughed "But yeah let's see"

She pulled her wand and he did the same; she moved her wand in a tight formation but very quickly and fired off various coloured curses. All which Harry shielded

"You're casting much quicker than before" he said proudly "And you've eliminated certain wand movements"

"Just like you and Neville showed me" she said

"That was very well done" he smiled "I've been working on something as well, do you want to see?"

"Of course, you've been my best teacher so far"

"Fire off spells at me then" he said

She immediately went on the attack sending every spell in her repertoire; Harry took a deep breath and then started batting away curses as Severus had, he missed a few which he then had to side step

"You're just batting the spells away, how? Can you teach me?" she asked as she stopped casting

"I can teach you but it comes down to reflexes. You literally use a small bit of magic to bat the curse to away. The safest way is still to be in a different place than where the curse is being aimed"

"I'd like to try it sometime but not tonight, can we take a walk?" she asked

"Sure" he said and offered his arm to her

"My father would like to thank you Harry James" she began "Fleur has been struggling and you'll never know how much your foolishness has helped"

"It was a pretty foolish move" Harry said

"I'm glad for your foolishness" she said smiling "Thank you for everything Harry James"

"Ms Delacour it is a pleasure" he said

"It is very cold" she said switching to French

"I don't mind the cold, this is milder than a Hogwarts winter" he said in French "And here I have the pleasure of sharing your company"

"What are we?" she blurted out and then blushed "I'm sorry Harry James, I'm being forward again aren't I?"

"Not at all Ms Delacour, I have been wondering the same. I did not want to start something that would end come summer"

"So you do like me?" she asked slightly smug

"How could I not? You're beautiful and intelligent, you're powerful and resourceful"

She blushed deeply

"You're not half bad either Harry James" she said switching back to English

"Thank you" he nodded and waited for her to continue the conversation, he had put the ball in her court

"What if it didn't have to end at the summer break? What if we we're in the same school next year?" she asked

"I won't be switching schools, I have goals that necessitate my attendance at Hogwarts"

"Even if it didn't I didn't think you'd make the switch" she responded "But what if I came to Hogwarts instead?"

"That would change things I suppose but there are things you'd need to know before we date and before you switched schools for me" he said

"So tell me?" she said simply causing Harry to let out a long sigh

"Ms Delacour it is not that simple, my life has not been simple and there are dangers. Very real dangers to anyone joining my life" he said

"What should I do to get you to tell me? Take your mark?" she asked

"Give me a vow?" he offered, he wanted to trust her and as much as he tried to deny it he was falling for her

"What should this vow say?" she asked curiously and Harry recited the vow Severus had sworn

They walked in silence in the wet cold weather that late January was known for; he noticed that it had gotten darker as they had been walking but it was still not closer to supper

"I'll do it" she announced "But I want you to tell me everything and if I decide that I'm okay with it I want you to be mine Harry James"

"Gladly, but it is not a pretty tale" he warned, she nodded understanding that she could be hearing another tale like the one her father had told her. She swallowed deeply and gave her vow

"Now where does the tale of Harry James start?" she asked

"I was raised by Muggles" he said and told Gabrielle the entire tale, he told her about Death and John and the people he killed and he told her about Dumbledore and where he wanted the wizarding world to move to. He told her about Draco and the threat he possessed and he told her about the tattoo and what it meant. They entered the dining hall close to the end of supper and took seats at an empty table

"Who else knows the full truth?" she asked

"Blaise, Theo, Sirius, Professor Snape, Theo's father and Remus" he said

"And your ex?" she asked raising her eyebrow

"No, I never planned on telling her" he said truthfully

"I can't say that I'm happy with your profession Harry James but it does make certain things easier to understand. I won't ask you to leave it or even give you grief about it; I want the future you envision for the wizarding world"

"It won't be easily won but I will give what I need to for it" he said and though back to the words he said to Hermione and Neville on the train the first time they met 'Greater than Merlin'

"Good, will you let me take your mark and stand by your side?" she asked

"About the tattoo, I've spoken to your father about it and he feels that it would be safer to wait until summer in case it forces your change" Harry said

"I have to agree with him even though it saddens me to know I can't show you how serious I am" she said

"Your vow says it all Ms Delacour" he smiled and took her hand "Does this mean you're not going to run away screaming?"

"Yes it does" she blushed

"Will you be my girlfriend Gabrielle?" he said blushing slightly himself

"Of course Harry" she said and kissed his cheek "I like how you say my name"

"I will keep that in mind" he said

"But I like calling you Harry James, I hope you don't mind since I don't mind you calling me Ms Delacour"

"Gabrielle, as long as your stay by my side you can call me whatever makes you smile" he said

 **AN – Shorter than usual but this was very much a transition chapter; the time jump would have felt excessive but anyway I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**

 **A reviewer asked about the possibility about pairing Harry with multiple witches in this story; I am unsure but not unwilling to comply with the idea, what do you guys think? Should he have another partner? Also how long do you think the Harry/Gabrielle pair can last?**


	38. Chapter 38

**AN- Another chapter and still I'm thankful as ever for all your reviews, favourites and follows. This one goes out to randomplotbunny and Yaw6113, my ever present reviewers**

 **Chapter 38 – Wands at the ready…**

Watching his girlfriend duel was a beautiful thing; he had taught her as much as he could before the tournament started and he even let himself be convinced to join it. She was currently waiting out her opponent's magical reserves; the boy had taken to bombarding her with heavily powered yet simple charms

The attacks weakened and then she pounced; instead of dodging the attack she batted the curse back at her fellow Beauxbatons student who had to shield very hastily. Then she rained down ice shards down on him; she knew her boyfriend was watching her use one of his signature spells and it would make him smile. She followed the ice spell up with a stunner as the boy was distracted picking his way past ice shards; he slumped over but she levitated him before he could land on any of the shards

"Ms Delacour wins" the Headmistress said from her seat "She advances to the quarterfinals where she will face her sister"

"Next up we have Mr Potter and Mr Ocon in the final match of the round of sixteen" she announced and Harry stepped up to the platform

The boy who stood across from him was tall and skinny. They bowed to one another and then they started; Harry went for a barrage of stunners and blasting curses but the boy simply shielded them, so Harry stopped and summoned a snake and set it on the boy.

The boy immediately summoned a mongoose; he had clearly done his homework on Harry. The tall boy fired off piercing hexes and restraints at Harry who side stepped the curses and waited for an opportunity. Then he saw the stunner coming for him so he batted it back at the boy who was preparing for his next spell, he fell to the ground and Harry was declared the winner

"Tomorrow we will have our quarter finals; you may go and enjoy the rest of your Saturday" the Headmistress announced

"Well done Harry James" Gabrielle said locking her arm with his

"Well done to you too"

"Thank you, I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. Tomorrow will be the real test" she said seriously

"It will be, I think if the Hogwarts students weren't here your sister would definitely win it. But I think you'll beat her tomorrow" he said

"What about the other three matches?" she asked

"I think Terry will lose to Neville because he lacks the raw power that Neville has and Neville has trained with me from day one. Theo will beat Finch-Fletchley and I think I'll beat Blaise, lately he has been specialising in enchanting more than fighting but is an excellent fighter and I'll be using 'light' magic so I'll be at a small disadvantage"

"Which means you think it'll be me facing Neville and you facing Theodore?" she asked

"Yeah I suppose. Facing Theo after Blaise will be difficult because he will be watching my match closely to prepare for the winner" Harry said "And Neville will be a tough opponent, you won't be able to use your allure as well"

"I don't need it" she said confidently

"Watch him fight Terry tomorrow and then you tell me how confident you are Ms Delacour" Harry laughed

"Why do you think that 'light' magic is a disadvantage?" she asked

"I don't, I think the distinction is arbitrary. To me there is no light or dark, only power and being forced to get better at magic that is so easily undone or outclassed by 'dark' magic feels pointless. I have to convince the world I'm a leader for the good and 'light' has become synonymous with good"

"So you're better with darker magic?" she asked

"Much much better, I use it for work as well. It's made certain situations easier to get out of" he explained

"Okay, so any pointers for tomorrow with my sister?" she asked

"Keep moving and play defensive. She'll wear herself out and you can go on the counter attack" he said

"So beat curses away and side step those I can't?"

"No, you played that card today. She will be casting too quickly for you to keep beating them away. Shield and dodge would be better"

"Shields use magical energy" she countered

"Much less than her barrage will be using" he said

"Okay, do you think we'll meet in the final?" she asked playfully

"If we do you better be ready Ms Delacour" he grinned

* * *

The following day she stood across her sister on the platform; her sister took deep breaths before bowing to her

"Think she'll win" Theo asked Harry

"Which she?" Harry asked

"Your girlfriend idiot" Theo said slightly annoyed

"I think she can win the fight if she focuses and remembers our training but she is overconfident and Fleur is going to take the upper hand first" he said looking at Gabrielle

The fight started and Fleur unleashed six quick fire curses, each a different colour and each without incantations or any real wand movements. Gabrielle tried batting them away but was hit by three of the curses only managing to beat the stunner away

"She's bleeding" Theo said

"She can continue so it's not over yet" Harry said

Gabrielle barely caught her breath before Fleur attacked again; this time using Gabrielle's injury to predict where her sister would go. Gabrielle banished several knives at her sister who created a stone barrier to stop them; Gabrielle immediately cast several stunners at Fleur's barrier hoping she'd bring it down too early. As the stunners flew across the platform Gabrielle sent a ten foot wave of water at her sister and then cast multiple freezing hexes at the wave; the effect was beautiful to watch. The wave moved slower than the freezing hexes which cause ice shards to be created

"She is amazing" Theo said "Did you teach her that?"

"I taught her the freezing charm" he said "Not to use it like that though"

Fleur went for her natural element and sent off a flame eagle so big and hot that the audience had to move backward even though they had been seated far enough from the platform and there were wards up.

Gabrielle used the cover of her wave to cast a few silent spells on herself and then stood waiting for the area between them to clear. She saw her sister limping slightly and bleeding from her wand arm as well

"They're both waiting for the other now" Blaise said to Hermione 'It seems Fleur thought this victory would be easier"

"She's fighting someone two years her junior, it should have been easier. But she knew Harry was training Gabrielle so she was foolish to think that" Hermione replied

Fleur went for another barrage of spells but Gabrielle was prepared for this; she picked out the stunners and cutting curses from the bunch, stepped into the path of a cutting curse and saw Fleur's eyes go wide with fear and concern and then she batted a stunner back at her unprepared sister

"Gabrielle wins" the headmistress announced "Healers please attend to the two students"

"Why didn't the cutting curse hurt her?" Theo asked Harry but it was Padma who responded

"Because Harry taught her to put an ice shield over herself" she said slightly annoyed

"Fighting her is going to be tough" Harry said more to himself

"Next up we have Mr Potter and Mr Zabini"

Blaise stood first and got to his end waiting for Harry to get to his; they bowed to one another and then the fight started. Harry summoned a single copper rod and held it in his left hand while shielding from curses and hexes Blaise was throwing at him; he dropped his shield and cast a spell on the rod as quickly as he could.

"What did he do?" Fleur asked Gabrielle now that they were in their seats

"He has made himself a lightning staff for lack of a better term" she explained "Watch"

Blaise fired off a cutting curse and a fireball at Harry who dodged the fireball and beat the cutting curse upward then he stepped forward and aimed the rod at Blaise and let off a blast of lightning which Blaise barely dodged.

"He doesn't do easy does he?" Fleur asked shocked

"Not at all" Gabrielle responded

Harry continued dodging and beating away curses which frustrated Blaise; he sped up his chain of curses to no avail. Harry had had enough of playing defence and cast ice spikes at Blaise who dodged most of them; next he cast a crow made completely of flames at Blaise who managed to extinguish it before it singed his robes.

"It's over" Gabrielle said

"No it isn't" Fleur said watching Blaise wipe the sweat from his brow

"Watch"

Harry grinned and cast a levitation spell on himself and then aimed the rod at Blaise once more and fired; Blaise side stepped the lightning and heard the splash of water then realised he was standing in a puddle resulting from the ice spikes being melted

"Mr Potter wins" the headmistress announced

Harry walked over to the healers who gave him a once over and sent him to the seats where he sat next to Gabrielle

"Well done" she said "You looked annoyed dodging and deflecting curses"

"I was, he is casting too slowly. You cast three or four times faster, he used to be quicker but I think that's because he has taken up enchanting where speed is less important" Harry said

"Next up we will have Mr Nott and Mr Finch-Fletchley" the head mistress announced

Theo made quick work of Justin who had a very limited arsenal of spells; Justin stalked off after he was awakened from a powered stunner. Theo sat next to Harry and the final quarter final was announced

"I'm amazed he made it that far into the tournament" Theo said to Harry quietly as Neville and Terry made their way to the platform

"I'm not, not really. Look at the top 8, six of us are from Hogwarts and all six are/were from our group. I think the Weasley Twins and Draco could have easily been there as well; then there's the fact that we aren't exactly novices at duels or fighting and we've been training with people like Sirius, you dad and Professor Snape" Harry countered

"And most of the people who were interested in duelling graduated last year" Gabrielle added in "That's why my father let me enter this year, because it's safer"

"Not with Mr Sparks" Blaise said taking a seat behind them "Nice job on that"

"Thanks" Harry grinned "Healers get you sorted out?"

"Yeah, they were keeping me there for a few extra scans" he said "We should pay attention"

Terry and Neville kept each other at bay, each sending a flurry of spells before taking a defensive position and letting the other respond

"A training match" Fleur almost yawned

"Both of their duels up to this point was more interesting" Harry admitted "But they duel each other often so that's probably why, they know each other too well"

Terry got hit by a bone breaker cast at his ankle and stumbled forward; Neville cast a stunner and mid fall Terry cast a weak blasting curse at the floor pushing him out of the way of the stunner. He got to his feet putting all his weight on his good ankle; Neville cast an array of flames and blasting curses at Terry who erected a shield in front of himself. Neville kept up the barrage not giving his friend a chance to heal his ankle; Terry seemed to snap and cancelled his shield and went on the attack as well

"Wow" Fleur said now that the duel had changed; spells collided mid-air as the boys didn't bother with shields and just tried winning the duel with pure power. Neville was quicker but Terry cast wide range attacks forcing Neville to move more.

Neville cast a stunner-cutting-tripping-blasting-freezing-stunner chain and the last stunner caught Terry in the face ending the duel. The applause for the duel was so rapturous that the Headmistress had to give it a minute before she could make her announcement

"Mr Longbottom wins and that concludes our Quarterfinals. Next weekend we will have our Semi-finals and Final" she announced "Mr Potter versus Mr Nott and Mr Longbottom versus Ms Delacour"

The hall emptied and students went their different ways; they still had a remainder of a Sunday afternoon to enjoy. Harry took Gabrielle by the hand and walked to one of the benches on the outskirts of the little village that Beauxbatons was. He cast a few light warming charms since winter was still in the air in early March

"You were amazing today" he said taking her in his arms

"I had an amazing teacher" she smiled and kissed him

"If that's my reward I might just ask your parents if I could be your tutor" he said once they pulled out of the kiss. He saw her looking at something in the distance; an eagle, his eagle. The bird landed on the back of the bench and waited for him to take the package of its back which he did quite quickly and then it took to the skies once more

"What's that?" she asked looking at the thick envelope

"Let's see, it might be business" he said seriously

"Open it"

He opened the package and found a contract and a letter

* * *

 _Hi Harry,_

 _We're officially business partners after you sign this document, fill in the withdrawal slip and return this to me. I have spoken to Blackclaw at Gringotts about it and he will facilitate the sale and administer your accounts from now onward. He wishes to see you once school closes up_

 _Thank you once more for helping me make my dream come true; I will say thank you in person much better than that though_

 _I have a few contracts that I'm closing out before moving on to the Continental, so it might be a few weeks before I send you new contracts. Will you be able to get out of school should I have something urgent?_

 _Let me know_

 _MJ Watson_

 _xx_

* * *

"Who is MJ Watson?" Gabrielle asked

"My business partner and agent. We just bought a hotel which is a front for being a procurer of all the tools for my trade, they do provide accommodation too"

"Okay I'd like to get to know that side of your life if you don't mind" she said seriously

"I'll let you meet her but that's all, maybe even see my apartment if I can get Floo access but I want you away from that part of my life Gabrielle" he said softly "I want you to be safe"

"I understand" she said knowing that her father kept his work away from home as well

"Thank you for understanding" he smiled and kissed her cheek

"Let's go send that document quickly so that we make it in time for supper" she said standing up

"Later, more kisses first" he grinned and pulled her into his lap

 **AN –I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**

 **On the multiple partner front, we shall see if any of the other ladies can catch Harry's attention the way Gabrielle has.**


	39. Chapter 39

**AN- Apologies for the delay but here's another chapter and still I'm thankful as ever for all your reviews, favourites and follows.**

 **Chapter 39 – Finding a way**

Draco watched as they dragged the limp body into a chair

"This is one of the guards at Azkaban, he is the deputy warden" his father explained

"Wake him" he said and watched as the man was woken

"Where am I?" the man asked confused

"You are in my current residence, Mr?" Draco asked

"White. What do you want with me?" he asked

"I need to know everything about Azkaban" Draco said "In as much details as you can"

"Or else?" the man asked braver

"Or else you'll have more of this. Crucio" Draco said and cast for a full minute

"I've had worse than that boy, do you think I became what I am today without going through training for this situation?" he laughed shakily

"Everyone breaks eventually" Lucius said over the man's shoulder

"Legilimens" Draco attempted to breach the man's defences but was thrown out rather quickly

"I see" he said and turned to the table and opened a suitcase revealing various knives and tools "Time to put that knowledge to work"

"Son, you don't have to do it yourself" Lucius said "We can get that muggle back here to do the torture or we can use the Cruciatus curse"

"For someone so intelligent you're awfully stupid father, look what that curse did to the Longbottom's. Physical pain on the other hand will serve us better"

Harry stood across from Theo waiting for the instruction to bow; he looked at his best friend who grinned, he was excited for this duel. It had been a while since they had fought one another. He looked to the crowd and saw Gabrielle blow a kiss to him; he smiled back at her

They were given the signal to bow and then the fight started; both boys fired off spells as soon as the call came. Spells collided in mid-air and Harry chose to dodge the ones that came close

He grinned back at Theo, no longer did they take the wait and see approach as they did in their first duel. They each where going for the win

Theo cast various curses that Harry did not recognise; he was holding back against everyone else but he knew a true fight was on his hands. Harry dodged the spells but had to put in much more energy than his previous duels, he cast his ice spikes at Theo who countered with a heavy wind charm which sent the spike back at Harry who hastily side stepped them

"They are scary good" Astoria said to Hermione

"They are the two best fighters in our group, they both have power and skill. Neville would be next since he has less skill but he has the power Harry does. And don't forget this is them holding back"

"Have you seen them duel using dark magic?" Astoria asked jealously

"I have, but it was because Theo asked me to analyse his style"

"Why would he ask you?" Daphne asked from the other side of Hermione

"Well we are sort of dating" Hermione blushed

"Well done Granger" Astoria said and slapped Hermione on the back

"Oh no he is bleeding!" Daphne exclaimed

"They both are, look at Theo's left leg" Hermione said scanning her boyfriend

Harry switched from ice to fire and sent off flaming serpents followed by flaming arrows; Theo erected a large copper shield in front of him and then sent off a wave of water from behind the shield

"He made a mistake" Gabrielle commented to her sister

"Because he can't see from behind the shield?"

"No because he used quite a bit of magic to erect that physical shield, he is going to be down on power. He had Harry at a disadvantage because Harry had been using more draining attacks but now they should be equally tired" Gabrielle said knowing that both boys were reaching their limits magically

"This duel has been going on for nearly thirty minutes" Blaise said as he watched Harry bombard Theo with cutters and stunners "And Harry is getting tired if he is switching to stunners and cutters, the transfiguration takes a lot more magic"

"He is lucky that Theo pulled up that shield" Neville agreed "Unlike the rod he used against you that shield is bulky and required a ton of magic"

"You're going to have a tough time against his girlfriend" Blaise commented

"I know, she thinks quick and casts quicker" Neville said looking across the hall where Gabrielle sat next to her sister "But I won't fall for her tricks like her sister did"

"You better not" Blaise laughed

Harry stood panting, fighting Theo had drained him. He knew it was a mistake when he switched to high powered blasting curses and summoning before Theo and he thanked Merlin when Theo drained himself with that ghastly shield. Said shield vanished and revealed a panting Theo, still grinning. He was enjoying every minute of fighting Harry.

Harry summoned three knives and banished them at Theo before sending flaming arrows as well.

"He's lost the match" Fleur said "He has almost no magic left"

Gabrielle looked deflated that Harry had chosen those spells when he knew they would drain him to the point where he could only perform simple magic. She watched Theo deal with the arrows first as they moved quicker; he side stepped the knives and the spell she didn't recognise Harry cast and prepare for his counter attack. But then Harry vanished and appeared behind Theo and cast a stunner ending the match before collapsing himself

"What just happened?" Blaise asked over the noise in the hall

"I think apparition within the grounds is forbidden just like Hogwarts so the French students are rightfully losing their minds" Neville said

"Are you telling me Harry just illegally apparated in an area where it shouldn't be possible?" Blaise asked shocked "How has he gotten so far ahead of us?"

"That would seem like the case, the ministry might want to question him but he won the duel" Neville said

"Mr Potter wins" the Headmistress said sourly "We will have a ten minute interval before the next match"

Gabrielle rushed to the area where the boys were being treated; Theo was up already and standing by as the healer tried to get Harry to wake up.

Harry woke but not in the hall where the duel had taken place; instead he woke in what looked like a ritual room. He saw Death sitting in a chair looking tired

"You look like death" He joked

"It's time you foolish boy" Death said seriously "You will need to kill more frequently now, it strengthens the bond"

"Why now? Is refilling my core that difficult?"

"Yes" the Power said simply "Without you killing and strengthening me but still being able to fill your core it is tiring. Especially when you decide to go toe to toe with a powerful opponent and then completely deplete your core. For any other magic it would severely hurt their magic"

"You're angry. I'm sorry" Harry said seriously "I was having fun so I didn't even think about the bond"

"It is fine Harry, it is not only your fault I look like this. Fate has been winning more battles against me, I need my servants now more than ever"

"What do I need to do?" Harry asked

"Just shake my hand" Death replied

"Remind me of the repercussions of this deal" Harry said

"You become my servant and your core will refill from mine; it will be different to what we have now in that you still generate about seventy percent of your own magic, you'll probably be down to about thirty. Again your aura will take on a darker shade and you will find darker magics easier and lighter magics will take more work, your healing spells will harm anyone but you"

"What about things like patronuses?" Harry asked "I've read that they're one of the spells that dark wizards can't perform"

"You'll find out that when you try" the Power said "Now take my hand"

"Not very friendly are we? Okay but I'd like another wand" Harry said

"No"

"Then why should I make the deal, it doesn't hurt me to refill from your core" he said serious

"Damn that fucking Johnathan" the Power raged causing the temperature in the room to drop to freezing "Do you want the world to be thrown into chaos? That is what will happen when I die because you keep using my power without providing me power in turn"

"I gave you the Philosophers stone for this power" Harry said simply

"Fine" the Power sighed knowing that he needed to make this deal more than Harry did at this point "You will not see me until the moment after you take Dumbledore's life, no help will be coming from me. I cannot and will not protect you from Fate should she decide to act"

"Fine" Harry said and looked into that ever shifting face

"Here" Death said handing Harry a wand which was the same as his current one in every way except the colour

"White?"

"Yes. Now what tattoo will you take?" Death asked

"Mors Vincit Omnia, same place as John has his Fortune favours the bold"

"You are capable of not being an inconvenience" Death said proudly "See you in a few years Mr Potter" the Power said and took the boys hand

Harry did wake in the duelling hall then, he saw the flashes of spell fire. He sat up and saw Gabrielle bleeding from her wand arm but she was still using it. Neville looked in equally bad shape, he couldn't move as freely as Harry knew he could

"Mr Potter please stay in your bed, we still need to monitor you. Your core is depleted" the healer said and ran another scan on Harry "Impossible"

"There's a problem?" Harry asked

"No, your core has been refilled already" the healer said looking as he looked at his chart "I want to take you to the hospital for further tests"

"Am I in any physical danger?" Harry asked annoyed

"No you're not but…"

"Then I will be leaving your care" he said and hopped up off the bed

"Mr Longbottom wins" the Headmistress announced

Harry rushed to the stage and saw the female healer already at work with fixing her arm

"You're up Harry James?" she smiled weakly

"I am, sorry for causing you to worry" he smiled back at her

"Your friend is amazing, I hope you beat him" she smiled and then took a blood replenishing potion

The final was scheduled for the following weekend and the group made their way to an empty part of the gymnasium.

"It is nice having everyone together for a change" Theo said smiling "To think that the school year will be up soon"

"Yeah, it was nice being here. But I think I still like Hogwarts better" Harry said

"Says the man who got himself a French girlfriend" Lavender teased

"Okay maybe not everything about Hogwarts" he admitted causing his friends to laugh

"So Gabrielle what will you do next year when Harry is back at Hogwarts?" Padma asked

"Well I've decided to take your example Padma, I'll be transferring" she smiled

"For Harry?" Padma asked almost confrontational "That is foolish"

"Padma, maybe tone down the aggression a little bit?" Daphne said quietly "You broke up with him remember"

"Yes for him but also for the friendships I have with Blaise, Theo, Neville and Astoria" she said "You see here I don't have friends, because of my gifts"

"Well we look forward to more sparring sessions with you Gabby" Neville said trying to clear the air

"Next time I'll win the duel" Gabrielle fired back

"Just get Harry injured before the duel. I'll help" Theo whispered loudly causing more laughs

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**

 **This chapter fought me, mainly because I wanted a Gabrielle/Harry final but there was no way I could have her beat Neville.**

 **For the record in terms of power the group goes;**

 **Harry,**

 **Theo,**

 **Neville,**

 **Blaise,**

 **Gabrielle,**

 **Terry**

 **And in terms of skill it would go;**

 **Theo,**

 **Harry,**

 **Gabrielle,**

 **Neville,**

 **Blaise,**

 **Terry**

 **As always any comments from you guys is appreciated and encouraged**


	40. Chapter 40

**AN- I'm thankful as ever for all your reviews, favourites and follows. Here's…**

 **Chapter 40 – Longbottom VS Potter**

"Are you ready to face Neville?" Gabrielle asked looking down at Harry laying on her lap

"Yeah" he said vaguely

"What happened after your fight with Theo?" she asked "You've been extremely quiet since then"

"You know about my deals with Death but I didn't tell you that I would one day become his servant" he said watching her face

"Which he wanted you to do before you started draining him too much, yes?"

"Yeah well it's happened now" he said still watching

"Okay, which means that you will be more powerful. What's wrong with that Harry James?" she asked curiously now

He studied her face for a while "You're not mad about this?"

"No Harry James" she almost laughed "I told you that I accept who you are"

"That is a relief, I don't plan on telling everyone about this" he said "Maybe only Severus"

"That is a good idea" she said "Maybe Sirius too, he did promise to help you as much as he could didn't he?"

"He did" Harry said

"So let him help you" she said "Especially with the ministry enquiry"

"About that…"

"Yes about that. How did you apparate on school grounds?" she asked "I've been waiting for you to tell me"

"I didn't" he smirked "It just looked like it"

"What do you mean?" she asked

"You cannot tell anyone this" he looked at her seriously "I need everyone to think that I can surpass wards"

"Your every secret is mine to keep too" she said

"I cast a switching spell on one of the knives I sent at him" Harry said proudly, he had been waiting to tell someone. Gabrielle's jaw seemed to drop and then she burst out laughing. She laughed for a while and Harry listened to her amusement; just when he thought she had stopped she'd start up again. He understood her amusement, the solution was so simple and elegant but it took accuracy to achieve the effect. She seemed to finish her giggles

"I love you" she sighed comfortably but then immediately stiffened

"I love you too" he smiled causing her to relax "How could I not?"

The rest of the week flew by for many of the students, many who were excitedly waiting for the final duel of the tournament. Theo had put his money on Harry winning and Blaise was backing Neville; sooner than either could blink they were running a betting tournament covering multiple aspects of the match; how long it would last? Who would cast first?

Daphne laughed as the boys were swamped by various students wanting to get in on the action. She looked at the entrance of the hall where Harry had just come into the hall with Gabrielle on his arm and as much as Daphne hated seeing someone else on his arm she couldn't deny that Gabrielle had firmly claimed Harry and made sure to supply his every need.

"Still sucks that he chose her over me" Astoria huffed

"Tori do you really like him?" she asked her sister seriously making sure to use her nickname to let Astoria know she wasn't being attacked

"I do, he is amazing Daph. I don't need to tell you that" she smirked "I see how you smile when he says your name, you can't help it"

Daphne sighed and dug into her dinner. Soon they would be watching Harry take victory in the duelling tournament and then she'd have to watch Harry celebrate with Gabrielle.

All too soon Harry found himself standing on a platform for the final time in the tournament facing his first friend. Neville gave Harry a smile and walked to the middle of the platform and Harry did the same

"What's up Neville?" Harry asked as the crowd murmured curiously "Not giving up are you?"

"No, I just want to tell you that I want to fight you at your best. No holding back" Neville said seriously "You said you want to be greater than Merlin, prove it to me"

"Those are some real strong words Longbottom" Harry grinned "Let's do this then"

The boys shook hands and then went to their ends of the platform

"Today we have the final between Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom, both boys have performed extremely well to reach this stage of the tournament. No doubt all of us will miss their presence and that of all our Hogwarts colleagues" the headmistress announced

The signal for the duel to begin was given and Harry immediately sent a chain of spells at Neville; he kept all of them simple and didn't try and overpower them, he couldn't win against Neville in the same way he did Theo.

"He's fighting smarter" Fleur said to Gabrielle

"Theo has less power than Neville so Harry can't waste energy in this fight" Gabrielle said not taking her eyes off the duel

Neville shielded against most of the spell and sent a volley of knives and spears at Harry who chose to dodge. The fight was slower than any of the others they had seen before; each boy was thinking through three or more attacks before they made one

Harry summoned three snakes and let them mill around his feet as he dodged Neville's spears and then returned with knives of his own. He couldn't try the move he did with Theo and the switching spell but he could try something similar

Neville switched to blasting and cutting curses as Harry started casting more rapidly still using his wand to conjure knives and banish them at Neville and then cast switching spells on the knives and watched the snakes land by Neville's feet. He quickly cast a black fog them and then cast the freezing charm on his body twice

Neville dispelled the snakes and looked up at the black fog between them; he had to be alert Harry could start casting at any moment

"Neville is waiting for Harry to cast first but Harry is busy preparing a move to win this duel and he is getting enough time from Neville's poor decision" Gabrielle explained as Harry kept conjuring knives and snakes

"He is ready" Hermione said holding on to Theo "Do you think Neville is prepared for the onslaught?"

"No, he lost as soon as he waited for the fog to clear" Theo said

Harry cast an overpowered wind charm at the fog and followed it up with a banishing curse on the knives and snakes. He sent ice shards and flaming arrows at Neville as well as multiple stunners and cutting curses

"How did he cast all that so quickly?" Fleur asked in hurried French

"He has power and skill sister" Gabrielle said proudly and almost a little smug

Neville got up a physical shield made of wood in time to stop most of the knives and snakes combo and all the rest of the spells. The snakes that got through had smelled the blood from the cuts he now sported from the knives and bit him as well.

"He has to end this duel quickly before he passes out" Susan said to Pansy

"Can he win?" Pansy asked

"Maybe, he had an idea to use but I don't know how well it will work" Susan answered

Neville brought down his shield and fired off three stunners followed up with three blasting curses and three restraint curses and finally another three stunners. Harry batted the stunners away and dodged the rest. Bleeding and tired, Neville moved his wand in a tight formation and conjured multiple vines across the platform to ensnare Harry

Harry side stepped the first few and cut the rest but eventually the thickest one wrapped itself around midsection and arms.

"That took a lot of power" Susan said to Pansy

"Has he practiced it before?" the other girl asked

"He has but not to bring up that many" Susan explained

Neville cast a stunner at the trapped Harry and dropped to one knee and breathed heavily; his head snapped up when he heard ice shatter followed by gasps. Harry stood in front of him, now unrestrained

"Good move, you almost had me" Harry smirked

Neville returned a smirked of his own and cast another stunner at Harry and watched the red light hit a Harry shaped ice sculpture. Harry stood to the left of the sculpture

"Sorry Nev, you did well though" and cast a quick stunner at Neville who couldn't move thanks to the snakes

"Mr Potter is the tournament champion!" the Headmistress announced as healers got to work on Neville.

The award ceremony was quick; Harry's name went on the official duelling tournament plaque and Neville's as the runner up in smaller text. Both boys received official invitations to join the school, Harry received a two hundred galleon prize and Neville one hundred galleons

The rest of the year proved to be very anti-climactic for the school as exams started a few weeks after the conclusion of the duelling tournament. Five Hogwarts students had decided to stay at Beauxbatons; Justin, the Patil twins and the Davies sisters. Harry had waved good bye to his friends at the train station as he was still confined to the Beauxbatons grounds until the Ministry had their hearing; it had been a point that the group had laughed about, if he could apparate on their grounds how could they hope to enforce the confinement? Gabrielle had told them that the offense was serious but not enough to warrant an arrest and since he was a minor they were waiting for his guardian to be present

Sirius found the boy sitting outside the gymnasium drinking some water and sweating heavily

"Ready for the inquiry?" he asked

"Yeah let's go" Harry said standing

"Maybe you should change your clothes?" Sirius offered

"Alright, but only because I'll be flooing to the Delacours afterward" he said slightly annoyed "Could they really not figure this out already?"

"Not everyone thinks like you do" Sirius said as Harry unshrunk his trunk changed and reshrunk the trunk

The inquiry went quickly; Harry decided to tell the members involved the truth and after watching his memories they decided that he had done no wrong.

"I need you to keep it under wraps though" he said

"Preposterous, it makes our security look weak" the chairman said furious that Harry would suggest it

"I have reasons Mr Lafayette" Harry said and then went on to explain the problems with Draco and the current climate in the British wizarding world

"So give us the fine for apparating without a licence and life goes on" Sirius said

That decision took an additional two hours to make; none of the members were happy to admit that an English wizard could accomplish what they were fining Harry for but they understood the need and none of them wanted to anger a potentially powerful ally from across the pond

"You will pay the fine of fifty thousand galleons before the end of the week" the chairman huffed

Harry said his goodbyes to Sirius promising to see him the following night and then stepped through the floo

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	41. Chapter 41

**AN- So just to get a few things straight before we continue.**

 **Harry was not close to death in his battle with Theo. He only drained his core, completely, and most wizards would fall into a coma so that their magic has a chance to regenerate over a few days. This would have happened to him too if he didn't have the deal with Death but his refill started costing Death more than it benefitted the Power.**

 **Harry wasted a ton of energy in that fight; something Nott Senior pointed out to Theo who played it smart but ultimately didn't have the reserves to keep the fight going.**

 **Also, the 50 thousand galleon fine is just the committee being spiteful. They understand the need to keep the secret but in doing that they are admitting that a 13 year old managed to break through their wards. They knew that Harry and Sirius could pay the fine so at their discretion they handed out a ridiculous fine.**

 **Harry is a dark wizard but he is not evil and I think that is a distinction I'd like to make before we move further. He is still the boy who blushed when he thought that he wanted a wife and kids but he knows that the world does not just give those things freely. It is hard won and he does not realise they consequences of his moves yet.**

 **Thanks to a few reviews and PM's bringing these points up, Especially Guest55 who always offers insight and a few questions that helps this story along.**

 **So with that said I'm thankful as ever for all your reviews, favourites and follows. Here's…**

 **Chapter 41 – Transforming the future… and Gabrielle too**

Harry arrived at the Delacour residence as the sun was setting and found the entire family waiting in the room that the fireplace was in.

"Finally" Gabrielle said and gave him a hug

"Is that for me or the tattoo?" he grinned

"Both" she laughed

Harry was introduced to the matriarch of the family and pleasantries were exchanged

"Shall we get this over with then?" he asked

"Mr Potter I have spoken to Nott Senior and we have decided that all of us will take your mark" Gabrielle's father announced

"Wait, I only gave the mark to Severus and Theodore Senior because I needed to get rid of the dark mark" he explained

"It is time to make more allies Harry, if I may" her father said "I think you'll find more people wanting to take the mark once you're back in England"

He seemed to stall on that thought; many people would want to follow him, if he wanted the future he had been dreaming of he would need allies.

"Let's do it then Jean Pierre, if I may" he smiled at the older man "I think we'll do you first then Mrs Delacour"

"Marie" Gabrielle's mother smiled

"Marie. Then Fleur and lastly Gabrielle?" Harry offered

"Why should I be last?" Gabrielle pouted

"Because Harry is unsure about how it will go with you" Fleur guessed and looked to Harry for confirmation and he simply nodded

"I'll have help should things go awry" he explained

All four chose to take the tattoo in blue; Jean Pierre went without hassle as he was only a wizard, Fleur and Marie had pain when the mark was given but once Harry had finish casting the pain vanish and both shifted into their alternate forms and back

"They're bigger" Jean Pierre said amazed "How much power do you have?"

"Quite a bit apparently" Harry said still shocked by the birdlike form of the Veela

"Harry James, it's my turn now I believe" Gabrielle said tired of waiting

"Ms Delacour I came here to give the mark to you. I couldn't leave without giving it to you" he smiled and started working. Gabrielle tried hiding her pain but her face betrayed her; once Harry finished she started convulsing

"Don't worry Harry, this is normal. Well maybe not normal but expected" Jean Pierre said as Fleur and Marie took Gabrielle upstairs

"She'll be okay right?" he said unable to keep himself from worrying

"She will, the process normally lasts for five to seven days. So you'll just have to be happy with our company" Jean Pierre said "Shall we duel to pass some of the time?"

"Curious about your new power level?" Harry asked grinning

"That I am" the man made no effort to stop looking like a child on Christmas morning

"I need you to show me how to perform a patronus" Harry said "I need to know something"

The two males spent the afternoon duelling and learning the patronus charm; Jean Pierre's smile grew more as the afternoon went on and he grew used to his new power level. It was not much but he could definitely feel a difference. It was late in the afternoon when Harry produced his patronus and immediately could tell something was wrong, not only could he see it in Jean Pierre's face but he had read up on Patronuses before and he knew they were a bright silver. His however was grey and in the shape of a basilisk

"Did you cast it properly?" the older man asked

"I did. It's not technique or anything along those lines, it's me" Harry said "It has to do with the mark and certain deals I've made" Harry said

"Will you tell us the truth? All of it?" Jean Pierre asked

"Gabrielle knows the truth. I had her make a vow like everyone else who knows the truth" Harry said still looking at his patronus "It's not something I plan on telling everyone"

"I'd like to know the truth Harry, my daughters future. No my entire family's future is tied in with yours" Jean Pierre said seriously

Harry told the man the vow he needed and Jean Pierre gave it easily; then Harry went about telling the man his entire story and how he had ended up with grey basilisk as a patronus. He told him about his childhood before John and then his time with John, he told Jean Pierre about the murders and the magics he practiced. Lastly he told him about his love for Gabrielle and his friends

"You're becoming the dark so that you can save our world, to make it better. Do you realise that?" Jean Pierre asked sadly. This boy who smiled brightly and inspired loyalty had a sad backstory

"I've never thought of it that way and I guess that there is some truth to it. But I need you to know that I like my profession and I enjoy the dark" Harry said seriously "I don't need to be saved"

"And I don't think you need to be Harry. When I helped fight dark wizards there was never a moment where they spoke of love or friendship and I think that will make the difference for you" the man said and gave Harry a pat on the back

"I won't hurt her and I'll keep her safe" Harry said

"I know you will"

Harry spent most of his time with Jean Pierre learning about Veela and the Delacour family; he was told the tale of how Jean Pierre met Marie and everything that was involved. He was told what to expect once Gabrielle woke from her transformation and how she would be different. He spent a few hours with Fleur working on releasing her allure; the girl's allure had been mellower this time round, not feeling like a mental battering ram anymore. He said goodbye to the family and they promised to send Gabrielle for a visit as soon as she could travel

Harry stepped through the Floo at Nott Manor and found the room packed with his friends and their families along with a few people he didn't know

"There he is" Nott senior bellowed

"Sir" Harry smiled "Having a party are we?"

"We are Harry, a Marking party" he said seriously

"I need to speak to Sirius" Harry said and crossed the room and grabbed his godfather by the arm and lead him out into the hall

"Sirius what is going on here?" Harry asked running his hand through his hair

"You have a little bit of James in you" the older man smiled clearly reminiscing "While you were in France Nott, Snape and I have been busy. We have been selling people on your vision of the future, minus your otherworldly acquaintance, and how Dumbledore had let the Wizengamot. All your friends' parents have spoken to their children and now they all want to give you their support"

"How did you get around the vows?" Harry asked

"We didn't we spoke to them about the future they wanted and we told them that that future aligned with your goals. They agree that Draco represents the problems in our society; he is a blood purity bigot, he wants the downfall of society and he needs to be taken down. The agree that Dumbledore isn't the man to lead us" Sirius said

"And I am?" Harry challenged

"Not yet but you can be and you have the power to be and we want you to be Pup" Sirius said and rolled up his sleeve

Harry stood and watched the man for what seemed like an eternity but was really only a few minutes

"You're all out of you fucking minds" Harry said and grabbed his white wand and marked Sirius. He stepped into the room wand in hand and made his way through the crowd marking everyone who requested it. Theo gave him a curious look about the white wand but Harry mothed 'Later' to him and he nodded

* * *

Draco sat across the man that he had been torturing for the better part of a month

"My father says that you're ready to talk Mr White?" Draco drawled

"I am" the man said horse

"Where is Azkaban?"

"In the north sea" he whispered broken

"Everyone knows that, how do I reach the place?" he demanded

"Normally you could Floo there" the man paused and seemed to grin "But since I've been missing for longer two weeks Floo access will have been revoked and the Floo's destroyed"

Draco punched the man in frustration

"How do I get there now?" he demanded

"There is a port in Middlesbrough, a ship will leave from there and sail to Azkaban carrying prisoners" he admitted

"How do I get onto that ship?" Draco demanded

"Get caught" Mr White laughed until he was silenced by the green glow of that familiar curse

"Dolohov and Dawlish, I have work for you." Draco said "Dolohov you will put in a request to move into the Auror team and the two of you will continuously bust prior Death Eaters over the following month and make sure you're on the team to transport us to Azkaban once I'm caught"

"Amelia Bones won't be fooled so easily my Lord" Dolohov supplied "A month will be too short"

"Draco, Dolohov is correct. Give them the summer to prove themselves in her department, once summer ends you can get caught"

"Then they will capture you first Father" Draco almost spat the last word "And you will spend the summer in Azkaban. Show me your loyalty"

"Alright" Lucius said palling slightly

"Now go" Draco said

* * *

Harry sat outside watching his now darker and smaller patronus run around between his legs

"Guess it was expected" Harry sighed

"Harry" Theo said coming outside as well

Harry cancelled his spell and waited for Theo to close the distance between them

"Where did you get the new wand?" he asked

"The same place I got the first one" he answered, he hadn't told his friends about Death yet and he knew that he never needed to but he felt that Theo deserved to know

"I thought so, it looks like a twin wand. You must have paid quite a bit to get it made" Theo said "I was going to get another wand in Knockturn over the summer, father suggested I invite you along but I guess it isn't necessary anymore"

"Thank you for thinking about me though" Harry smiled "So you and Hermione huh?"

"Yeah, it just happened" Theo laughed and rubbed the back of his head

"Just after Padma told you she liked you" Harry said raising an eyebrow and then laughed

"Prat"

"You make a good match. I'm happy for you Theodore" Harry smiled

"Thank you Harold" Theo teased

"You know that's not my full name idiot" Harry laughed, Theo was his best friend and he made Harry feel normal

"Harrison? Harriet?" Theo kept pushing laughing louder now

"Don't let me get Daphne out here" Harry warned

The party ended up moving outside as well as people started looking for Harry; Severus found him in the crowd and arranged lessons for the following day and made his leave, his departure triggered the departure of various families. Harry finally got to bed in the early hours of the morning and closed his eyes.

"Tomorrow we start again" he whispered to himself and drifted off to sleep

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**

 **I still have not found a realistic way to make this a multi pairing fic with Harry. Your suggestions are welcome; Guest55 I know I know, Daphne or Fleur but I can't see how. Dating your sister's boyfriend? Can't see it… yet**


	42. Chapter 42

**AN- I'm thankful as ever for all your reviews, favourites and follows. Here's…**

 **Chapter 42 – Summer time and the living is…**

Standing in the Nott's dungeon and sweating was not how Harry pictured spending the first week of his holidays. Theodore Senior had pushed them harder than before; demanding more magic and training at every opportunity.

"Have you heard from Gabrielle yet?" Theo asked in their break

"No not yet, apparently the transformation can take a week or two. I must say one thing, these training sessions are keeping my mind from worrying about her too much" Harry answered truthfully

"Come on Longbottom, use that power of yours" Nott senior shouted as Neville duelled Severus

This was the fashion in which most days went for the boys; they would duel each other and then dummies and then Theo's father and Severus and then a free for all fight would wrap up the day. Severus told them that the free for all would teach them the chaos of fights. Harry had lessons with Severus in the evenings about playing his role better or with Sirius or Daphne's father about Wizengamot meetings.

It was late on Friday afternoon walking up the stairs from the dungeon that Harry had a chance to talk to Severus about everything that had been happening

"Severus, can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked politely and led the man onto the grounds of Nott manor when he agreed

"What is the plan?" Harry asked "Everyone seems geared up to follow me in leading the fight for a better future but have any of the adults thought about it?"

"We have Harry; some of the families you met at the Marking party are all ambitious and want to tie their fates in with the winning side, the Flints are an example of those families. Some have been grey for a long time and now wish to renounce their neutral position and actually get involved in running this country, Johnathan Greengrass and his family have convinced those people as he was their leader during the war against Voldemort. Then there are those who think about how to improve our society and get rid of corruption but do not agree with how Dumbledore has been going about this, those people are represented by Amelia Bones and Madam Longbottom. Black, Nott senior and I have convinced all these people that you are the one to follow"

"But Severus, I am a teenager. I will be turning fourteen in just over a month"

"And yet you have taken down a Troll and a Basilisk, you have won a duelling tournament, you have created a tattoo for your followers to take, you have taken lives, you work as an assassin. Who better to lead us? Nott is too dark for most of the grey and light families, Black was sent to Azkaban and his mental state will never be what it was, I was outed as a Death Eater in the previous war, Johnathan Greengrass does not want to lead, Amelia Bones does not have the backing, Madam Longbottom is too old and still has to care for a teenager. Yes you're young but you have the name, the wealth, the counsel, the power and the drive to be everything this society needs" Severus explained, he knew the boy needed this pep talk. He could see it in his eyes every time discussions were had about Wizengamot meeting or when someone asked for his opinion on legislation being debated "You signed on for a better life when you accepted Death's deal, he told you that people would look to you to lead them. Killing Dumbledore will be easy compared to what comes after; and killing him is going to take everything you have but everything else that needs to be achieved, that you can rely on the rest of us for"

"I suppose you're right Severus" he smiled looking convinced "So shall we resume lessons on playing my role better for Dumbledore?"

"No I think we have covered everything you need, you just need to practice. I do think we shall skip lessons tonight as it seems that you have a guest" Severus said and left Harry standing there as a mass of blonde hair came sprinting

Harry felt her crash into him and allowed for them both to fall to the ground; she looked different now but just as beautiful, her face looked more defined and her hair seemed longer. Her blue eyes shone brightly and she was taller than before

"I missed you" She smiled and kissed him

"I missed you too Miss Delacour" he smiled when she pulled back and looked at him "How do you feel?"

"Wonderful, more powerful" she grinned

"I'm glad, I worried about you" he said and looked down at her arm where her pale skin was now emblazoned with his mark

"I love it" she said noticing where he was looking "I can feel you when I touch it" she said

Harry stood and helped Gabrielle to her feet and continued his walk with her

"So how did it feel to transform?" he asked and took her hand

"When you were giving me the mark it burned and then when you finished I felt my body shaking but my mind was fine. It was almost like I was stuck in my body but had no control. I felt it change; I could feel my body grow, my hair and my bones" she said and blushed "When I woke I spent some time looking at myself in the mirror"

"I could spend all day looking at you" he smiled and she blushed even though he knew the line was corny

"So what is wrong Harry James?" she asked now standing in front of him "I can see it in those green eyes and papa told me to come see you urgently"

"I'm supposed to be hiding my emotions better than this" he mumbled

"You are doing an excellent job, everyone inside says that you've been having an amazing week. Only Severus seemed relieved when he saw me coming to you as if you needed the distraction. Now tell me" she said looking up into his green eyes

"I'm just worried that so many people are choosing to follow me when I'm only a teenager but talking to Severus just before you arrived helped me quite a lot" he explained

"Have you spoken to Sirius about it as well?" she asked

"I have but he seems to care more about me than the grand plan for the future. He is taking me away for the rest of the summer; he feels that my training can take place on Black Isle as well as it can here and there he controls the wards" Harry explained

"That is good Harry James, you need to look after every facet of your life. Sirius is trying to make sure your mind and soul stay healthy and strong" she smiled "Let him help in his way?"

"I will" he smiled back at her, her smile was infectious "You really are beautiful"

"And all it took was a transformation" she said

"No, even before that. I'm sorry I didn't say it much before, I didn't want you to think that it was the only reason" he said and took her by the hand and dragged her behind a tree and started kissing her

* * *

Draco sat in the mansion and read the newspaper; his father had been apprehended by Dolohov and Dawlish, both men had immediately been put on the Auror squad. Their plans were proceeding nicely, the mansion had been getting emptier and emptier as the weeks went on.

* * *

Theo and Blaise kept up their pace as they jogged around the island behind Harry who seemed to move quicker recently. Theo knew that Harry had learned a new technique which allowed his magic to assist his movement; a technique that Merlin had invented but was useless to the ordinary wizard since it drained their core

"Why do you think none of us can get it right?" Blaise asked "Our magic and cores should be roughly the same size shouldn't it?"

"No I don't think so. Father explained something to me during the Christmas break about Harry, it's something that I noticed during our duel as well" Theo explained

"Which is?" Blaise prompted

"He is magically stronger than the rest of our group, and he uses his power often. He practices more than us" Theo said "So he grows his core"

"Like he explained at the start of second year? The more you use a muscle the stronger it gets?" Blaise said

"Exactly, have you seen how he wandlessly summons things to himself? He did it to Gabrielle as well"

"I have, he does a few spells without his wand too" Blaise said

"He uses his magic whenever he can in every way he can" Theo continued "But do you understand how much that drains you? I tried that yesterday and by the time the sun set I was exhausted as if I had been duelling all day"

"So he exhausts himself every day and that's how he has ended up stronger than us?" Terry asked having caught up to his friends and heard most of their conversation

"The Potter's have always been a magically powerful family" Theo said

"There are mentions about their duels in the Wizengamot" Blaise remembered "I always wondered why people were fighting in the Wizengamot"

"Honour duels" Theo said as they stretched to cool down "They defended against laws, and if their words weren't enough they used their wands"

"That's why since his parent's death more restrictive and discriminatory legislation could be passed because no light family was powerful enough to challenge it or demand honour duels in the Wizengamot" Neville said

"So we just trudge along behind him?" Blaise asked

"Not really. We each have our own strong points, none of us can enchant except you" Theo answered

"And I'm better with Herbology than everyone else in our year" Neville said "Terry is pretty handy in potions"

"I'm a good strategist, something I've been working on more with Hermione and my father"

"So we all just keep strengthening our specialities and keep up training and that's enough"

"It has to be" Neville shrugged as they watched Harry come out of the house with Gabrielle slung over his shoulder and made his way into the ocean

"I'll be seeing you later" Theo said and left the group to find his own girlfriend

Neville laughed when he saw Theo come out of the house in an identical fashion to Harry but stopped when he saw Pansy and Susan coming towards him with grins on their faces

* * *

Severus walked toward the doors of Nott Manor; he had noticed a few things changing in their society especially in the ministry and decided that he needed to speak to Nott Senior as soon as possible. He walked into the study and found Johnathan Greengrass, Lupin and Black there as well

"Severus, you could have used the Floo" Nott said seriously

"Dumbledore" was all Severus said in response

"Understood. I assume that you're here about Dawlish and Dolohov?" Nott asked

"I am, I see you have all come to the same conclusion. They're planning a breakout?" Severus asked

"Sirius figured it out, he thinks that Draco will be caught at the end of summer and we'll have a breakout shortly after" Johnathan explained

"I have to agree; Draco needs Barty, Bellatrix, Rabastian and Rudolphus"

"They were the strongest after Malfoy, you and me" Nott nodded in agreement

"What can we do to stop it?" Lupin asked

"Get Amelia and inform her about it" Severus said "And hope she can put something into place, the Wizengamot and the minister will make it difficult"

"Black tell Harry that his fight might get much more difficult soon" Severus said now taking a seat "And give him access to the Black library already"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	43. Chapter 43

**AN- I'm thankful as ever for all your reviews, favourites and follows. Here's…**

 **Chapter 43 – Draco**

Draco stood in front of the Granger home with his last two followers; the new school year would start in three weeks, which meant if his plans were to succeed he needed to be captured tonight.

But first he would deal a blow to all the muggleborn scum

"Macnair put up the wards" Draco said

The older man complied; the wards would keep people out and keep those inside trapped. They walked into the yard and blasted the door inward which immediately caused screams of terror.

"Mulciber shut that bitch up" Draco demanded and watched the man stun the woman. The father was stunned shortly after; Hermione came down the stairs with her wand in hand

"Malfoy" she spat "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to send a message" he said and disarmed the witch and then snapped her wand "You won't be needing this"

He cast restraints at Hermione who dodged the first set but couldn't avoid the next; she was sat up in a chair as Macnair walked around the room casting various spells and Mulciber levitated her father to a dining room chair

"Leave my parents out of this" she said

"You speak as if you have any control in this situation" Draco laughed "Pathetic"

"Please, they haven't done anything" she pleaded now

"Ah the wonderful music of begging. Mulciber hasn't been with a woman in a while" Draco said and walked over to Hermione's mother "Care for a muggle Mulciber?"

Mulciber, who had just restrained and gagged Hermione's father, smiled as though he was being given a Christmas present

"Yes my Lord" he said not taking his eyes off the older woman

Draco took a seat next to Hermione's father and woke the man; next Draco cast a compulsion charm on Hermione and her father so they would watch everything

"Go ahead" Draco instructed "Wake her first. Let's make sure she enjoys her time with you"

* * *

Amelia was glad that Susan was spending the last few weeks of her vacation back at home; she had been spending her days with the Parkinson's and the Longbottom's as they discussed the marriages or simply enjoying their time away from school. Amelia had missed her niece and with the recent capture of former Death Eaters she was forced to take some time off. Tomorrow she would take Susan shopping and give her a day to remember.

"How is Neville doing?" Amelia asked

"He is doing well Auntie. We have been searching for a healing potion or spell for his parents and with Harry translating old Latin healers notes Neville seems more hopeful" Susan answered

"Harry can read Latin?" she asked "Is there anything that boy can't do?"

"It doesn't seem like there is" Susan answered honestly

"How are you coping with Neville dating you and being betrothed to Pansy?" she asked changing the subject, she didn't want to fill their time talking about Harry Potter and his posse

"It's been an adventure, Neville is very caring and he shows us both how much he loves us. And Pansy and I have been falling in love as well"

"With Neville? I'd hope so, you're planning on being his wives" Amelia said, she'd never married but she hoped Susan would find that happiness in her life

"Yes with him but also with each other" Susan said shyly, her aunt did not know the full extent of the relationship with Pansy

"Are you and Pansy seeing one another as well" Amelia asked putting down her wine glass

The Floo roared to life

"Amelia, Draco Malfoy is currently at the home of a muggleborn student. Aurors are outside trying to break through the wards" A voice of an Auror shouted

Amelia got to her feet and went to the Floo

"Who is the student?" she asked calmly as she pulled on her wand holster

"Hermione Jean Granger" the voice said

"Susan, let Harry know. He is on Black Isle. Tell him he is not to interfere"

* * *

Harry sat under the stars on the beach with Gabrielle; she had spent so much time here on Black Isle with him that he couldn't imagine the place without her. She was supposed to spend a week there but now she would only spend a week at home with her parents before starting at Hogwarts

"Your parents have been very understanding" he said

"They have been here most days as well" she shrugged into him "I'm glad they haven't asked about our sleeping arrangements though" she blushed

"It was just that once" Harry explained "I wish you'd crawl into my bed more often"

"HARRY!" Sirius shouted into the night

"Go" Gabrielle said and watched Harry sprint across the beach

"Quite impressive Mulciber" Draco said and kicked the lifeless corpse of the Granger patriarch

"Thank you my Lord" Mulciber bowed

"Now you filthy mudblood" Draco said and turned to Hermione who had tears streaming down her face but cried silently as her voice had disappeared and her throat burned from all the screaming

"My Lord we have about five minutes before they break through" Macnair said

"Good, I'll have enough time then" He said and pulled out his torture kit "Let's make sure you don't forget what you are"

Harry arrived on the scene and saw obliviators already at work with Hermione's neighbours; Aurors still worked on the wards, Dawlish and Dolohov leading the charge.

"Can't we help?" Harry asked

"I think it would be best if we stayed out of their way" Sirius said

"We're in" Dolohov shouted as he rushed into the house with Dawlish; spell fire ensued for a few minutes before the entire scene went quiet

Dolohov levitated three bodies out into full view; Draco Malfoy had been captured.

"We have them" Dawlish announced to his team "Amelia, Ms Granger needs medical help"

Both Theodore's arrived and stood beside Harry and Sirius; Theodore Sr. held onto his sons arms knowing what he wanted to do

"Not now son, we have to let them get away with this" he said comforting his son

"We'll make him suffer for this Theo" Harry said

Hermione was portkeyed to St Mungo's with an Auror guard and all magicals were asked to leave the scene so that the obliviators and Aurors could finish they work

"I can't believe he actually let himself get caught" Sirius said "Azkaban is a miserable place"

* * *

Harry stood across from Theo, both boys were panting heavily. Harry had to use everything in his arsenal to keep Theo at bay; he had been foolish to offer his friend a duel to calm down. Theo attacked as if Draco was standing across from him

"Much better" They heard a voice say from the door

"Use that emotion when you fight" Severus said as he emerged with Nott senior

"Yes Severus" Harry said

"Now I think it's time for us to have that duel that I've been promising you. I think you've come far enough using only light magic" Severus said

"How about a two on two duel Severus? It has been a while since we've had a chance to duel beside one another" Nott senior asked

"We duelled beside each other every day we trained their group" Severus said knowing that Nott liked making sweeping statements for dramatic effect

"I meant in a two on two duel. Last time we had that was against those two Aurors in '89" the man smiled

"Alright, let's…" Severus started but was blasted backward by Harry

Harry lowered his white wand

"Stop chatting" he said and then started firing off bone breakers and blood boiling curses while Theo cast blasting curses. Nott senior batted curses away making sure he knew where Severus was

Theo pulled his second wand from his holster and cast blasts of fire from his primary wand and blasting curses from his left. Harry burst into a flurry of crows like Severus had done before but Severus cast a quick spell to force the boy back into his normal form and smirked at the surprised look on his face.

Theo fought his father for the first time not holding back on the power he knew he had. Nott senior cast flames which were black in colour and carved their trails into the stone; Theo cast water but the flames weren't dowsed. Harry cast a flames whip with his black wand and managed to get Nott seniors attention which caused the black flames to die out. Theo took the opportunity to summon stone lions and set them on his father and Severus

The two older men cast blasting curses at the statues but Harry cast spells to intercept theirs which let the lions get close enough to do damage. Severus received a blow to his left arm while Nott senior was knocked backward. Harry stowed his black wand and summoned a copper rod while Theo started summoning steel spikes and sent them flying at Severus; Harry sent off a blast of lighting which started ricocheting off the various spikes, Severus and Nott senior both dissolved into a smoky blur as they dodged the electric net that they boys had created with the spikes.

Harry summoned a tidal wave of water and Theo cast piercing curses and freezing curses similar to what Gabrielle had in the duels. Severus produced a steel shield while Nott senior cast fiendfyre effectively evaporating the wave and ice spike

"Enough" Severus called

"That was very well done Theo" Nott senior said proudly "You too Harry, you're working well together"

"Keep training together and you'll be a formidable team" Severus said

* * *

Hermione woke in a white room; it looked like a hospital room, she was confused. Why was she in the hospital? Then slowly that night's events came back to her; she ripped at her top to take it off

"Ms Granger, please calm down" the healer said rushing into the room "We got rid of it"

"I need to see!" she shouted and continued trying to take off her top

The healer helped her take off her top so she could see for herself and then the girl broke down once more.

"Should I tell your friends that you're awake?" the healer asked and Hermione nodded

"I will but I need you to take this first okay?" the healer said and gave the girl a sleeping draught and calming draught. Hermione passed out once more and the healer went out into the hall to send a message to the girls friends

Harry and Theo paced the room watching Hermione's sleeping form; she had just received another round of potions after she had told them what Malfoy had done

"How can we just wait for him to make the first move Harry?" Theo asked

"He is an Azkaban now Theo, we can't get there and we don't know what he has planned other than breaking out a few Death Eaters"

"I want to kill him Harry" Theo said emotionally "I know Theo and I will let you have him"

"I want to make it slow and painful" Theo said taking a seat beside Hermione "He is going down the blood purity route"

"It will gain him followers but lose him followers as well" Harry said

"He'll come out with around eighteen followers" Theo said "Which includes the strongest Death Eaters"

"I know Theo. Trust me I know!" Harry slammed his first into the wall and left the room

* * *

Dolohov and Dawlish guarded the boat as it docked on the island which Azkaban was built on. The Aurors stepped off the boat and were greeted by the human guards

"Dolohov, great job on catching him" one of the guards said

"Thank you" the man smiled proudly

"I need to speak to the warden" Dawlish said "It's urgent"

Dawlish was lead through to the warden as the prisoners were processed; Draco stepped up to the desk and saw Dawlish step back into the processing room and nod

"It's time"

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**


	44. Chapter 44

**AN- I'm thankful as ever for all your reviews, favourites and follows. Here's…**

 **Chapter 44 – 100 000 words here we come!**

A full moon shone brightly into the windows of Azkaban

"Today we start a new chapter in the history books" Draco said to all the people in the prison

"Yes my lord" various voices said

"You have all been healed and fed, you have had two weeks to get your strength back and you will have another two as we sail to our new base. Once we dock the real work will begin"

"Yes my lord" the echoed again

"Dawlish and Dolohov, you have proven yourselves to be true agents of change. You will be rewarded when we're back ashore" Draco said to applause from the rest of the group

"Thank you my lord" Both men said

"The following people are to leave the room and make preparations for our journey across the ocean" Draco said serious "Dolohov, Dawlish, Lucius, Bellatrix, Rudolphus, Rabastian, Fenrir and Barty"

After the eight members left Draco turned to those remaining

"The remaining thirteen of you have a different task" Draco said "Bring in the guards and their warden" he said

Draco made his way to the middle of the room as the guards were brought into the room

"A grand purpose" Draco said to the twenty one people standing in the room "Not many people are destined for such a life" he said and waved his wand

"We can move my lord" Macnair said

"Good" Draco smirked and saw the horrified look on Ronald Weasley's face "Did you really think I'd let you join my ranks?"

"You promised I'd be useful in winning the fight" Ronald sneered

"And you will, you all will be" Draco said solemnly "But I cannot see any use for those who used excuses and bribery to stay out of Azkaban all those years ago. I do not have any use for children who can't cast a killing curse and make sure it hits"

"Your father should be here as well then" Crabbe senior grunted

"Oh he will have his moment, this is too simple for him. Beside my numbers are already correct, if Weasley wasn't here perhaps he would be joining you" Draco said and moved around the room levitating each body to their designated spot

"What are you doing?" Ronald asked as his body was levitated to his spot

"Performing a ritual" Draco said simply "Why did you try and kill Potter?"

"He killed Colin and Ginny" Ronald roared "He deserved to die, him and those filthy snakes"

Draco looked at the boy for a moment and then started laughing

"You are a fool Weasley. I killed your sister and that filthy muggleborn" Draco explained "You see Slytherin left a monster in the castle, a basilisk actually and I made my way into his chamber. Your entire family should be wiped from existence for being traitor's to the cause so I didn't hesitate when I saw her"

"I'll kill you!" the redhead struggled

"No you're not going to, you see Weasley you and the other twenty wizards here have one use to me. I'm going to use you" Draco said smiling and pulled out a book from his back pocket checking that he had done the ritual correctly "Perfect, now we wait for the moon to reach its peak"

"What will happen to us when you're done?" Mulciber asked

"There won't be a 'you' left for anything to happen to Mulciber, besides you've received a lot more than any of these other traitors" Draco explained "I shall explain the ritual while we wait. This ritual circle and its runes allow for a transfer of power from one object to another; it was used by many wizards when enchanting was more expensive, they would transfer enchantments from one object to another. Your previous leader figured out that by adding an additional rune it would allow the ritual performer to substitute one or both objects with a person"

"So you're going to steal our power?" one of the captives asked

"Yes, if you must phrase it so crudely" Draco sighed "I prefer to think of it differently, I'm putting that power to better use"

"You spoke of numbers earlier" one of the Death Eaters said

"Ah leave it to the unspeakable to pick up on the most important part of the process" Draco clapped his hands "Well done Rookwood"

"Seven and three?" the man asked

"Yes but you see it is so much more than that. The original ritual only allowed for transfer of power from one object to another and the adapted ritual only allowed for a one to one transfer whether or not a person or object. I was faced with a dilemma, how would I create a ritual with multiple subjects to one?"

"Clearly you've figured it out" Rookwood spat

"You're impressed though" Draco laughed "You're about to die and you can't help but be impressed"

"It is impressive" the man admitted

"You're all in groups of three which feeds power into seven circles which each feed into one which feeds power into me" Draco explained "But that is enough teaching, the moon has reached its peak and I have reached the first step in achieving my goals. Thank you for your service and power"

He cast aside the chair and stood at the centre of the ritual

"Begin"

* * *

Harry walked into his apartment at the top of the Continental; the place was massive, it had three bedrooms, a study, a training room and an open living area. Harry sat down in the chair by the record player and put the needle onto the vinyl

Ella Fitzgerald's voice came softly and sweetly, he loved the fact that he had all these records to listen to. He had not spent much time listening to music in the Dursley home or with John

There was a knock at the door; it was probably MJ wanting to know how his contract had gone. He stood and made his way to the door

"Ms Watson" he said politely

"Harry, how did it go?" she asked coming into the apartment

"As well as expected" Harry said "Or are you here for a full report?"

"I'd like a full report if you don't mind, I love hearing about your kills" she said pouring herself a drink

"Alright. Stephan Crawford, fourth contract since we bought the Continental. He was just a stock broker to most people but it seemed that he facilitated many insider trading deals at a commission" Harry explained "But you know that; he had an apartment registered to him but he hardly spent time there, instead he spent most of his time at a loft belonging to the corporation he worked for. It had better security and I think he was expecting me; since we were instructed not to harm anyone else I made my way into the buildings ventilation system which runs up the middle of the building and branches out from there"

"How did you climb vertically?" she asked

"I learned a new spell" he said simply

"So no equipment other than the wands?" she asked

"Yes. Finding the apartment was easy enough, he had company though and I had to wait till she left" Harry said "Happened rather quickly and then I dropped into the room while he was in the shower"

"How did you do it this time?" she asked excitedly

"I tried out a new spell I've been wanting to see the effects of. The flaying curse" he said

"What happened? Flaying could be beating or stripping the skin off someone" she asked

"Stripped the skin right off him; I think he passed out after a minute or so and then he died from blood loss there in the shower" Harry explained as the record came to its end

"Wow, what a kill" she smiled "I still owe you a thank you"

"I thought that was what all these 'impossible' kills were" Harry said

"Only you would think that work could be a gift, no they weren't" she said and walked over to where he sat, she seemed to debate with herself internally before she sat on his lap "I know I'm not pretty like your blonde girlfriend but…"

"Ms Watson, you're gorgeous" Harry said truthfully "But I don't want this as a thank you. Like I said I thought the challenges were that, so you can consider the debt settled"

"You don't want me?" she asked embarrassed

"Not like this" he answered slowly "And preferably not when I'm involved"

"You continue to surprise Harry" she said and got off his lap "Any other teenager would have kept quiet and let me have my way and then blamed it on hormones"

"I've been told I'm not like any other teenager" Harry responded "If that makes you feel better"

"It doesn't. Rejection is never fun" she said "Doesn't mean that I'm giving up" she winked

"Alright Mary Jane" Harry said using her name

"So will you return to school tomorrow with your friends? I know you've been hiding away here using work and your girlfriend as a distraction"

"I will, I need to face them sometime" Harry said

"I'm sure they've missed you" she said "I'll miss having you one floor up"

"I'll be back for urgent work" he said "I have gotten the fireplace connected to the Floo system"

"Are you supposed to tell me about these things?" she asked

"I don't care about that rule" Harry said

"If I have any kills for you I will send it via your bird?"

"Only magical or urgent please" he said

"Good night Harry" she smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek

"Good night Ms Watson" Harry said and walked the woman to the door

He climbed into his own shower and let the hot water pour over his head and down his body; he had been avoiding everyone but Gabrielle and Fleur, both girls being mistaken for one another by MJ but he decided not to mention it. He had been getting closer with Fleur as they continued practising her control with her allure and Gabrielle had convinced him to show them both his new place.

Gabrielle also gave him a lecture about his disappearance from the wizarding world; it had only been two weeks but she told him that it ended once school started. He was frustrated to tell the truth, Theo acted as if Harry needed to be reminded that they were allowing their enemy time to get stronger, as if Hermione's injuries meant nothing to him and as if watching her memory didn't affect him. It was another reason he had grown closer with Fleur in recent weeks; she understood his reluctance to act and his feelings of failure to protect those dear to him.

He had to face Theo and Hermione and tell them that it was not their faults that he disappeared but rather that he needed the time to process how to move forward as far as Draco was concerned. He had to welcome Hermione to the family as she was adopted by Sirius and tell her that he would make sure she was never attacked again

But how could he promise that? They would be attacked and he might not be there again

When he got out of the shower the water was cold and he had a plan; it would hurt and it would cost him but it might save his friends and allies pain

* * *

Gabrielle sat next to her sister on the train; Fleur had decided to join them at Hogwarts for her final year, Gabrielle knew why. Her sister felt safer when Harry was around, just like Gabrielle herself did. They didn't need Harry to protect them; they were skilled and powerful enough to do that themselves but his presence was comforting.

"Fleur" Gabrielle spoke her sister's name softly

"Yes Gabby?"

"Papa warned me about something and I think I'm okay with it because it is you" she said in French

"Papa and mama have been talking to me as well" the older Veela admitted "I do not want to steal him Gabby"

"You are not, not if we share" Gabrielle said

"You do not mind?" Fleur asked. She knew how Gabrielle was when she was a child; she was very possessive and struggled to share anything and now she was offering to share the love of her life

"No I do not. But only with you not with them" Gabrielle said as Daphne and Astoria opened the door to the compartment

"We will have to speak to Harry first, he might not want to" Fleur said quickly before the Greengrass sisters could take their seats

"I will speak to him" Gabrielle said

The subject of their conversation came into the compartment minutes later followed by Hermione and Theo; he sat between the sisters and gave Gabrielle a kiss on the cheek

"Did you speak to them?" she asked quietly

"Yes" he whispered

"Quit snogging already" Blaise said taking a seat beside Daphne

"Just because Lavender left you doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't be romantic with our partners" Theo said and gave Hermione a peck on the lips

The compartment filled with everyone except the four girls who were on the train to Beauxbatons

"So I have changed our tattoos" Harry announced to the compartment

"How did you get that right?" Daphne asked

"A little Latin and staying up all night" he answered leaving out the conversation and deal with Death

"How have they changed?" Astoria asked

"You can use the tattoo to contact me, I'll feel a 'call' from you, all you have to do is think about me and send magic to your tattoo. It will allow me to get to you if you're in trouble"

"So we have some extra safety?" Hannah asked

"Not as much as I wanted but yes you do" Harry admitted "I'm having portkeys made as well; I spoke to Theo's father about it. The goblins assure that they can make them but because the order is so large it will take some time and gold"

"They'll be able to rip through any wards" Theo added

Theo caught Harry's eye and motioned for them to leave the compartment; Harry followed Theo out into the hall

"What's the matter Theo?" Harry asked

"What did you give up Harry?" he asked his friend "You didn't tell Hermione and I about the tattoo which mean that you didn't want me to ask you anything in front of the group"

"Maybe I just wanted to tell everyone together?" Harry said

"No chance" Theo said looking at his friend

"I had to destroy my new wand in the process" Harry admitted, he traded his wand and the Deathly hallows for the new power

"And you drained your core again" Theo said as if it was obvious

"I might have but it was necessary and I was desperate. I want to protect all of you" Harry said. Theo stepped forward and gave Harry a hug

"You're doing enough and I'm sorry that I made it seem like you weren't" He said honestly "Knowing what she went through just rattled me"

"Me too. We'll find some time once we're back at the castle, I have somethings I'd like to share with you" Harry said

"Do you mind letting go of my boyfriend?" Gabrielle said smiling

"He is all yours" Theo said and went back to the compartment

"Can we talk?" Gabrielle asked

"Will it be another heavy discussion or will you be threatening me once more?" Harry grinned

"Neither" she said and took him by the hand and walked till they found an empty compartment

"You have me all to yourself now Ms Delacour" Harry smirked but saw that Gabrielle was looking serious "The last time my girlfriend had me in a compartment to herself I ended up single"

"I'm trying to handle things better than she did Harry James" she said "I want you to date my sister… as well"

"As well as you?" Harry asked "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, actually you did everything exactly right. I want you forever and I am willing to let the relationship between you and Fleur develop further because I believe you need her and she needs you just as much as I need you." She rattled off in part French and part English

"Come here" Harry said and pulled her into his lap "You seem torn my Gabrielle"

"I'm not. I'm just scared that I'll lose you the same way Padma did by forcing it onto you" Gabrielle explained

"You won't. You have already done more than she has as far as my heart is concerned and in this case you decided to talk to me before offering me up like an object"

"How do you feel about it then?" she asked

"Since I've been helping her with her allure and in these last few weeks I have grown closer with your sister. If I'm honest I could see something more develop there if you weren't in the picture" Harry answered truthfully

"So will you do it?" she asked

"Only if you can tell me that you're truly okay with it" Harry answered

"I am. I promise" she said smiling

"This year is going to be truly challenging isn't it?" he said

"You'll have two capable witches to help you through it" she promised

"I'm going to tell Theo everything" Harry said "So I'll have him too"

"Good"

* * *

When the train slowed everyone changed into their Hogwarts uniforms; Fleur and Gabrielle in uniforms without any house colours. Disembarking the train in Hogsmead Harry took both Gabrielle and Fleur's hands and walked to the carriages

"We'll talk about it some more but for now let's just go with it?" Harry said to Fleur who gave him a smile

"Miss Delacour your sister is doing that thing with her face again" he teased and Fleur just kept smiling

When they entered the school gates they were searched for any illegal items by Aurors and Goblins; a growing pile was forming beside those doing the searches.

"This year is really going to be different" Blaise said handing over a few items

"Hopefully that means better" Harry said

"With no Weasley's it should be" Pansy said

All the returning students were comforted by the familiar sight of the great hall and the routine of the sorting and then the changes began

"Now we have a few students who will be sorted for the first time even though they aren't first years" Dumbledore announced "Gabrielle and Fleur Delacour and Luna Lovegood. The Delacour sister's join us from Beauxbatons and Miss Lovegood has been home-schooled by our new History of Magic teacher Professor Xenophilius Lovegood"

All three girls were sorted into Hufflepuff and took their seats by Hannah and Neville

"Now as many of you know the school was closed last year to address concerns the ministry and your parents had, as you have already seen Aurors now patrol the halls and will become a permanent feature in our school, please make sure to respect them as they as here for our safety and protection. Unfortunately I will take up some more time to explain the changes before we can have our meal" Dumbledore said from his podium

"Professor Snape will no longer teach potions as he will be handling one of our new electives; the Dark Arts and he will be in charge of the duelling tournaments held throughout the year. Professor Moody will be teaching defence against the dark arts and will also be assisting Professor Snape with the tournaments. Professor Xenophilius Lovegood will be teaching History of Magic as I mentioned and Professor Greengrass will be teaching potions. Professor Scamander will be teach Care of Magical creatures"

The student body buzzed with chatter about these new developments

"Silence please?" Dumbledore said politely as ever "Professor Flitwick will continue teaching Charms and Professor McGonagall will be teaching Transfiguration. Divination, Herbology, Astronomy and Runes will continue to be taught by Professors Trelawney, Sprout, Sinistra and Babbling respectively. The moving staircases have been replaced with ordinary staircases and the classrooms have all been standardised which means that Divination has been moved to the Fourth floor"

Each Professor seemed to nod as their subject was mentioned except for Trelawney who seemed genuinely upset by the announcement of her classroom

"Hogsmead visits will be escorted and will take placed on the last Saturday of each month starting in October and ending in April. The Village itself has been through some changes to ensure safety for all but has also expanded, with this in mind I can announce that all students are now permitted to leave the castle for Hogsmead visits" Dumbledore said happily watching the excited faces of many of the first and second years

"Now lastly we will not be having a Quidditch cup this year" the headmaster announced to an uproar "Now now, we will be having something more exciting this year to celebrate the reopening of Hogwarts"

The hall fell quiet once more

"What could be more exciting than Quidditch?" a student shouted

"Hogwarts will be hosting the Tri-Wizard tournament and our colleagues from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be joining us a week before Halloween. Your first lesson in History of Magic will cover the tournament" he announced "Now time to fill our stomachs"

Food appeared on the table and the hall filled with the usual sounds of the opening feast

"Have you heard of this tournament before?" Harry asked Theo

"No, Father may have but I think we might as well just wait for History of Magic and see what information we can get from that class" Theo said dishing himself some food

"I suppose. Professor Snape has managed to get us a room close to the dungeons to practice in which is connected to his office. With the Aurors on patrol he prefers us being close"

"Makes sense but do we have to enter through his office?" Blaise asked

"I don't know, we'll have to wait and see" Harry shrugged "I'd like to find out more about the wards from Professor Snape before we start practising"

"In case there are new monitoring ones that have been added in?" Blaise asked

"Exactly, I don't want to fire off something dark and minutes later have all Aurors on premises in the room" Harry said "We have to be more careful"

"We always were" Blaise said "Besides we don't have Weasley's to worry about this year"

"Thank Merlin for that" Astoria said and slid in between Theo and Blaise "Harry when do we have our first meeting?"

"We have to find out where the new room is first, but I'll let everyone know" Harry said to her "Now I'm going to walk to the Hufflepuff common room before I come to ours"

"I don't think the Headmaster is going to like that" Theo said "He hasn't made his 'Suppertime has ended and we should retire' speech"

"He is about to" Harry said shaking his head at Theo's impression.

As if on cue Dumbledore did make his speech and all the students left the great hall; Harry held out his arms for his two ladies and followed the Hufflepuff prefect to their common room

"This is good night my ladies" he said and kissed their hands

"Harry James we expect you to walk us to breakfast" Gabrielle said seriously

"Anything for you Ms Delacour" he smiled at her serious face and kissed her cheek

"And you too Ms Delacour" he said and kissed Fleur on her cheek as well causing

He watched both girls walk into the common room and then spun around and crashed into Luna Lovegood

"I'm sorry Ms Lovegood" he said and helped her gather the pages she had

"It's okay Mr Potter" she said "Are we always supposed to be this formal?" she leaned forward and whispered causing Harry to laugh

"Not at all, I just wanted to make a good impression" he said

"You should try not bumping into people then" she smiled

"Alright I will, I knew I was doing something wrong" he chuckled

"See you around Harry Potter" Luna said and went into the common room

* * *

Severus sat in his new office; he preferred the one in the dungeons but this was the only office with a backroom which Harry and his friends could use. He had scanned the room for monitoring charms and then put up ward within the room to prevent detection spells from working; he was about to set up a ritual circle but there was a knock at the door.

"Harry, come in" Severus said in a tone reserved for his favourite student

"What are you doing Severus?" Harry asked

"I just set a few wards to keep the Headmaster and Aurors unaware about the nature of the spells you perform here. I also advise that these books never leave this room; it makes sense for me to have such dark books but now a fourth year student"

"We actually were concerned about the wards" Harry said "What else are you going to do in the room?"

"I am going to draw a ritual circle for the new power ritual" Severus said

"When do we do it for the first time?" Harry asked

"On the next full moon, we just missed the last one" Severus said "So you have just under three weeks"

"See you in class tomorrow then Professor" Harry smiled

"Good night Harry" the older man smiled

 **AN – I hope everyone has enjoyed it. So please review and please favourite and follow if you haven't already.**

 **This one took longer to write because of its length and it has a lot of exposition I know but the world is changing and I needed to address this before moving forward.**

 **I'd just like to say a massive thank you to everyone reading this. Your reviews make me smile and force me to rethink certain things while confirming others. This story has challenged me more than any other and I hope that you'll stay on board until the end.**

 **SO now for a question;**

 **How will Harry kill Dumbledore? Will it be a duel to the death? Will he secretly poison him? Or will it be some other way?**

 **I'm interested in hearing you theories and the person who gets closest to what I have in mind will get a special mention and a character named after them**


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